Dear St. Anne's Families:
As I just wrote to faculty, from the very beginning of this pandemic, we have placed the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff at the core of all decision making. The people in our community ARE our priority. And all along, it has been our goal to provide clear and direct communication with regard to decisions that impact all of us.
It is in that spirit that I write to let you know that we have received notice of a student in the MS (8th grade) who has tested positive for the coronavirus. While we have had cases in our community before, this is the first such case since the CDC released a revised set of guidelines related to what defines a "close contact". The revision in full is included below and can be found on the CDC website. As you will see, it suggests that the decision be made irrespective of whether the contact was wearing PPE.
Per standard policy, we are working closely with DPH and all those who are defined as close contacts, based on the revised definition, will be contacted with further instructions.
What this means for us now is that, out of an abundance of caution and given the strict nature of the revised guidelines, we are asking all of our 8th-grade students and faculty to stay home tomorrow, Friday, November 6th, until those "close contacts" can be verified. Furthermore, the 7th-grade teachers work with both 7th and 8th-grade students so we will be providing substitute coverage for our 7th-grade students.
NOTE: 7th and 8th grade families should expect a follow up note from Mrs. Reilly later this evening.
As we have additional information, we of course will pass that along. In the meantime, please be in touch with questions.
As ever, we are
#HeronStrong,
Barry
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Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period* starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.
* Individual exposures added together over a 24-hour period (e.g., three 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes). Data are limited, making it difficult to precisely define "close contact;" however, 15 cumulative minutes of exposure at a distance of 6 feet or less can be used as an operational definition for contact investigation. Factors to consider when defining close contact include proximity (closer distance likely increases exposure risk), the duration of exposure (longer exposure time likely increases exposure risk), whether the infected individual has symptoms (the period around onset of symptoms is associated with the highest levels of viral shedding), if the infected person was likely to generate respiratory aerosols (e.g., was coughing, singing, shouting), and other environmental factors (crowding, adequacy of ventilation, whether exposure was indoors or outdoors). Because the general public has not received training on proper selection and use of respiratory PPE, such as an N95, the determination of close contact should generally be made irrespective of whether the contact was wearing respiratory PPE. At this time, differential determination of close contact for those using fabric face coverings is not recommended.