Two days after the board, the school district announced it further relax its Covid safety protocols to comply with the directive from Dr. Joseph A. Lapado, Florida State Surgeon General, to place decisions regarding quarantining asymptomatic students in the hands of parents.
Under the ruling, parents and guardians have expanded choices relative to the quarantine of their children.
Students who are exposed to a COVID-19 positive case and who are asymptomatic, will no longer be required to quarantine. If a parent wishes to send their asymptomatic child to school, no other action is necessary on the part of the parent or guardian.
Parents, however, do still have the right to quarantine their asymptomatic student who have been deemed exposed to a COVID-19 positive case, for up to seven days from the date of exposure. To ensure the accuracy of attendance reporting, the parent or guardian must notify the school of the decision to keep home upon learning of the exposure to a COVID-19 positive case.
“This new directive has altered District, as well as parental, protocols,†stated Superintendent Timothy A. Smith. “This ever-evolving situation will continue to be a work in progress. We ask that our parents and the community continue to work with District personnel as we navigate these new directives.â€
Symptomatic students or students who have been deemed COVID-19 positive, may return to school after:
– receiving a negative COVID-19 test result and remaining asymptomatic OR
– 10 days have passed since symptoms began or positive test result and have had no fever for 24 hours OR
– receiving written permission from a medical doctor licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459 or an advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed under chapter 464.
The District will continue to keep records of contact tracing, adhere to enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocols, and encourage social distancing, where feasible.