YCSD COVID-19 Guidance for Schools and Parents

For the vast majority of the COVID-19 pandemic, YCSD relied solely on VDH guidance. Below you will find YCSD guidance, grounded in current VDH guidance, to schools and families as we enter the 2022-23 school year. The division does reserve the right to add school-wide mitigation layers in the case of outbreak or significantly increased community transmission:

Face Coverings

There are no masks required of staff or students; however, any individual who wishes to continue to mask, including those who face higher risk from COVID-19, may do so as an option.

Testing

Made available through State funding, YCSD has a ready supply of COVID-19 home testing kits available through school nurses for staff and students.

Isolation and Quarantine Guidance

VDH makes the following suggestions and YCSD, per Policy JHCC - Communicable Diseases, encourages staff and students to follow the guidance below. YCSD will honor COVID-19 related absences as excused.

Quarantine is no longer routinely recommended for asymptomatic individuals after exposure to COVID-19 infected individuals.

Symptomatic persons (regardless of vaccination status) should begin isolation at home and undergo testing as recommended by their healthcare provider(s). The day symptoms began should be counted as day 0.

Persons who test positive (regardless of vaccination status) should isolate themselves at home for at least 5 days. If they are asymptomatic or symptoms are resolving and they have been fever-free for 24 hours, they may return to programming after Day 5, provided:

• If the individual is able to mask, they should do so through Day 10
• If the individual is unable or unwilling to mask during this time (including children under age 2), VDH recommends a negative test on or after Day 6 in order to return to programming OR the person should remain home through day 10
• For exposed but asymptomatic persons (regardless of vaccination status), quarantine is no longer recommended for the above settings. These individuals may continue to attend programming as long as they remain asymptomatic
• Masks: Students/staff that attend programming during this time may consider wearing a mask around others indoors until Day 10
• If a student or staff person in this group has ongoing household exposure to a person with COVID-19, VDH recommends students, families and staff consider more frequent testing
• If a school or facility is experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 that has been difficult to control or is unusual in size or scope, regional and local epidemiologists may apply professional judgment and recommend traditional quarantine and isolation standards be applied until the situation is stabilized. (Final COVID-19 Quarantine Isolation Guidance)