Quarantine and Isolation Reduced
Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 have now implemented the recent updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quarantine and isolation guidance. Quarantine and isolation periods in school settings have now been reduced to five days.
The Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health updated their guidance to align with the CDC. These mitigation strategies are used for those who test positive for COVID-19 or are considered to be a close contact.
Isolation for those who test positive for COVID-19 may only be ended after that five day period if the person has been fever free for 24 hours and symptoms have improved.
District 203 said the process of reporting new COVID-19 positive cases, close contacts status, or the onset of COVID symptoms has not changed. “Please keep your students home and contact their school’s health office in any of these scenarios,” said District 203 Superintendent Dan Bridges in a letter from the district. “As always, please continue to monitor students for COVID-19 symptoms and keep them home if they are sick.”
Why Was Guidance Updated?
According to the CDC, the quarantine and isolation guidelines were updated in part because research is showing that transmission occurs early in the course of infection. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s mask mandate remains in place. Masks are still required inside school buildings.
“Thank you for your continued support of our students and teachers. It’s been an incredibly difficult year, but we will continue to push forward together,” said Adrian Talley, superintendent of District 204.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
photo courtesy: District 203
