COVID-19 FAQ PARENTS
St. John the Baptist School Board
Omicron is a highly contagious Covid-19 virus. Symptoms are similar to the common cold and include headache, cough, congestion, runny nose, and fatigue. Other symptoms can include fever, nausea, diarrhea, loss of taste and/or smell, body aches, shortness of breath, and/or chest pains. If your child is experiencing shortness of breath and/or chest pains, please seek emergency medical care immediately. St. John the Baptist School Board will follow the recommended 5-day isolation and quarantine periods.
What does quarantine mean?
To quarantine means to keep someone who was in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 away from others. The purpose of quarantine is to slow the spread of COVID-19. If your child is being quarantined, they should take extra precautions to avoid close contact with others and should practice mask-wearing and frequent hand-washing while their symptoms are monitored. If your child becomes symptomatic, you should seek medical advice and have them tested for COVID-19.
Why is my child being quarantined?
A student is quarantined because they were identified as a close contact of an individual that tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumptively positive for COVID-19 due to symptoms.
For students, they were within less than 3 feet of a positive COVID-19 person and were not engaged in consistent mask wearing for more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period or had direct physical contact with a positive individual (e.g., hugging, kissing, sharing utensils or being sneezed or coughed on).
Does my child have to be quarantined if he/she is vaccinated?
All fully vaccinated scholars do not need to be quarantined after being identified as close contact. Monitor your child and if they begin to have symptoms, quarantine your child, contact the school nurse and consider having your child tested for COVID-19.
Does my child have to quarantine if he/she has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past?
Your child does not need to quarantine if he/she tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 90 days and they are not presenting with symptoms. If they begin to have symptoms, quarantine your child, contact the school nurse and consider having your child tested for COVID-19.
When can my child return from quarantine?
Identified close contacts will quarantine for 5 days. Monitor your child during this period and notify the school nurse if symptoms begin. If after 5 days your child does not have symptoms, they may return on day 6 with a well-fitted mask.
What do I do if my child tests positive for COVID-19?
Please notify the school nurse of the date of the positive test so the school can contact trace to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the school. We will ask you to isolate your child for 5 days which means to avoid direct or close contact with others. Isolation is a term used when there is a positive case. Your child needs to isolate because they are contagious. If possible, identify a space at home where your child can isolate from other family members and mask-wearing and frequent handwashing will help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at home.
Does my child need a negative COVID-19 test to return to school?
No, your child does not need a negative COVID-19 test to return once the isolation period has been completed. However, your child’s symptoms must be improving and must have been without fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications (e.g., Tylenol, etc.)
How do I get my child’s assignments?
Instructions on how to obtain lessons are posted on each school’s website.
Will my child be marked absent?
Your child will have an excused absence if they are quarantined or out sick with COVID-19.