LREI | Healthy LREI

School Testing and Vaccination Guidelines.

September 22, 2022

Dear LREI Community,

Thank you for your patience as we examined our Covid procedures and policies. I ask that you read this message carefully. It has two parts - 1) our thoughts on vaccines and 2) additional reminders about your family’s part in keeping the community healthy.

Vaccines

We feel strongly that the Covid vaccines, including the current updated third dose that specifically protects against Omicron strains, are hugely important in keeping each of us healthy and in doing our parts to keep the community healthy. Click here to read the CDC’s recommendations.

That said, we have decided not to require the newly formulated third dose (booster) for students 12 and up. Students younger than 12 are required to have a full series, but do not have to have an additional dose, if they have not already received one.

However, we urge you to consider additional doses and to consult with your child’s health care provider to see what makes the most sense for your child/children. In addition to shortening the period of illness and contagion, additional doses can decrease the risk of developing long Covid. Also, any reduction in transmission, any shortening of the period of contagion, protects those who cannot receive the vaccine or are otherwise immunocompromised. We are eager to avoid a significant Covid impact on the school days/weeks after Thanksgiving as we move towards Winter Break. This has been a significant issue over the past two years.

Again, I urge you to have your child receive an additional dose if it is available to them and if it is not medically contraindicated. I cannot stress this strongly enough. An additional dose of Covid-19 vaccine will protect your child, your family, the school community, and others. The more of us who have additional doses the more likely it is that we will miss fewer days of school.

In the event of a more serious outbreak, if the level of infection returns to where it was last year, it is possible we may require a booster in order to participate in extracurricular activities (sports, theater, etc.) It is also possible that if we find ourselves in a serious spike in infections that we will require a recent additional dose/booster for your child to stay in school. We cannot predict the course of the virus over the next year, but we can predict that those who are vaccinated will have more options if the level of infection increases significantly.

Finally, we reserve the right to require additional doses moving forward.

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Reminders:

Our first and most important reminder is for all families to be aware of their child’s daily well being and to respond if their child is exhibiting any symptoms of Covid-19 or any symptoms of any childhood illness, for that matter. Each family should create their own daily health check and respond to any symptoms of illness that their child is experiencing.

Specifically:

If your child has a fever, please keep them home until they have been fever-free, without medication, for 24 hours and until they are able to handle lingering symptoms independently.
If your child has had an upset stomach with vomiting and/or diarrhea, do not send them back to school until they are symptom-free for 24 hours. Gastrointestinal viruses can be very contagious and spread through classrooms quickly.
Strongly consider having your child receive the flu shot to protect against what may be a more prevalent flu virus this season.

Regarding Covid-19:

If your child has any symptoms of Covid-19, please have them take two rapid tests 24 hours apart, using an at-home rapid test. If either test is positive, let us know by emailing nurses@lrei.org.
If your child tests positive they must stay home for 5 days and can return on day 6. Day 0 is the day of symptom onset or the day of positive test if asymptomatic.
After testing positive, your child must mask through day 10.
Close contacts are encouraged to mask and should test on day 5.
Masks must be worn if exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 in school.
Masks must be worn in the nurse’s office at all times.
If a symptomatic student is staying home pending negative tests, siblings should mask in school and isolate from the symptomatic sibling/parent at home.
If a person sharing a living space is diagnosed with COVID-19, please let the nurses know so an individual family-based plan can be developed and implemented.
As needed we will ask small groups/grades to mask for short periods to slow the spread of Covid-19.

If you have any questions, please email nurses@lrei.org.

Note:

Our policies are regularly reviewed and updated, please email nurses@lrei.org for current guidance if you have questions.

COVID Q&A - Symptoms/School Exclusion/Isolation/Quarantine/Contact

List of 8 items.

Student and Staff Symptoms/Illness Policy
- All students and staff must stay home and immediately take a COVID test if they exhibit one or multiple of the following symptoms:
  - Fever (100 F)
  - New cough or congestion
  - Sore throat
  - Loss of taste or smell
  - Vomiting or Diarrhea
- Students and staff must monitor for the following symptoms. If you are experiencing one of these symptoms, we ask that you take a rapid test. You may come into school given the test is negative and the symptom resolves within 24 hours. If you are experiencing more than one of the following symptoms, we ask that you stay home and test:
  - Headache
  - Fatigue
  - Muscle aches
  - Abdominal pain
- As of 3/23/22: Students/staff may take a home rapid test if experiencing the symptoms above. If that test is negative, either a PCR test OR a 2nd home rapid test taken 24 hours after the first is required to return to school when asymptomatic. If the home rapid test is positive, no further testing is necessary.
- Students and staff with negative test(s) as above may return to school when they have been fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, 24 hours after any episode of vomiting or diarrhea, when feeling better and able to tolerate masking. There is no need to submit pictures of negative test results.
- Positive results must be reported to nurses@lrei.org immediately. If testing positive, your child must remain home for 5 days with day 0 being the day of symptom onset or the date of positive test if asymptomatic. Your child may return on day 6 given they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and can manage residual symptoms on their own. It is DOH policy to mask for days 6-10.
Parent/Household Member Illness Policy
- If a member of the household tests positive for COVID-19, we ask that you alert the nurses so an individual household-based plan can be created for your child.
- Given the high likelihood of spread within the home, we ask that your child mask for 10 days and test each morning before coming to school for 5 days. If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, please keep them home and alert the nurses.
- If needed, rapid tests are available for pick-up at school both in the nurse’s office and at the front desk.
Mask Policy
- Masks continue to be optional in 4s-12th grade.
- Masks are required when returning to school after testing positive for COVID-19 from days 6 through 10.
COVID Exposure Policy
- All students and staff are strongly encouraged to report any known COVID exposures to nurses@lrei.org.
- Families and staff will be notified by the School of any in-school exposures. It is strongly recommended that exposed students wear a mask for 10 days and take a test on day 5.
What happens if my child gets sick at school?
If your child develops any symptoms of COVID-19 at school, as defined by the CDC and NYS Department of Health above, they will be evaluated by a nurse. If the nurse determines that these symptoms require that the student be sent home, a parent/guardian will be called to pick them up. We expect that you will be available to answer a call from the school at all times during the day, and will pick up your child within 1 hour of contact. Your child will be isolated from other students and monitored in the nurse’s office until a parent/guardian arrives.

Any child sent home with COVID-like-symptoms must have the following to return to school:
- A negative PCR or 2 rapid antigen tests 24 hours apart
- At least 24 hours fever-free without fever-reducing medication
- Symptom improvement and the ability to self-manage any lingering symptoms in school
If a child is not tested for COVID-19, they must stay home and isolate (as if they were positive) for 10 days after the onset of symptoms.
I have more than one child in the school. What happens to a sibling if the other gets sick?

If you have more than one child in the school and are called to pick up one sick child, we ask that siblings be tested for COVID-19 in school and assessed by the nurse for any symptoms. All negative, asymptomatic siblings will be allowed to remain in school and asked to mask until the symptomatic sibling tests negative on their second rapid test and is asymptomatic.
What if my child has seasonal allergies and is coughing or congested?

Cough and congestion are both symptoms on the list of COVID-19 symptoms. For any new onset or new worsening of symptoms, we are required by the NYS Department of Health to isolate and refer the student for testing.

To avoid this situation, we strongly recommend that you talk to your pediatrician regarding starting your child on daily allergy medications to prevent these symptoms before they start.

If your child experiences seasonal allergies and symptoms are accompanied by red, itchy eyes, they can remain in school given they test negative for COVID-19.
What if my child already had COVID-19?

It is possible to contract COVID-19 more than once. As a result, you will be required to follow the isolation, testing and return to school procedures outlined above, even if your child was diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past or has a positive antibody report UNLESS the COVID infection was within the last 90 days and the person has not traveled or had known COVID exposure.

Students/Staff having tested positive for COVID-19 should not participate in any PCR testing for the 90 day period following their positive test result. Antigen testing may be required for surveillance or symptom management in this 90 day time period.