Covid-19 Policies

List of 8 items.

• Absences

  For absences due to illness or other medical concerns, please email the health office at nurse@prumc.org.  Please include as many details as you can, and one of the nurses will be in touch with you regarding next steps.  Attendance is taken by 9:30am each morning, and any unexpected absence will be followed-up on by one of our school nurses.  We encourage you to be proactive when your child will be absent, and we also encourage you to contact the health office regarding illness before sending information to your child’s teacher or contacting other parents.  If your child falls ill while at school and you are contacted by the nurse to pick up your child, we ask that you make every effort to pick them up in a timely manner.
  
  

  For planned absences (vacation, well doctor visits, dentist appointments, etc.), please email your child’s teacher with the information.  You DO NOT need to include the nurse on emails regarding planned absences.  

• Return to Campus after Illness or Quarantine

  One of the nurses is on call in the evenings and on the weekends.  If your child has been absent from school due to illness or quarantine, or has been sent home from school due to illness, you must obtain approval from the nurse before your child can return to campus.  In order to obtain approval, please contact the health office via email with an update on your child’s condition the day before you would like them to return, and one of the nurses will be in touch.  Our nurses will not be able to clear you if you email them the morning you expect your child to return – it is likely they won’t see the email in time. ONLY THE SCHOOL NURSES OR THE DIRECTOR CAN CLEAR CHILDREN TO RETURN TO SCHOOL IF THEY WERE OUT FOR ANY TYPE OF ILLNESS RELATED REASON.
  
  

  The Preschool is following the latest Georgia Department of Public Health Guidance, coupled with the CDC guidance, regarding the Return to School Strategy, which is determined based on a person’s health status (dated July 22, 2020).
  
  

  Symptomatic persons with confirmed COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 who had mild or moderate illness can return to school or childcare after:

  •    At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared (first day of symptoms is day 0) AND
  •    At least 24 hours have passed since last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications AND
  •    Symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) have improved
  
  Symptomatic persons with confirmed COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 who had severe to critical illness (if they were hospitalized for shortness of breath, pneumonia, low oxygen levels, respiratory failure, septic shock, and/or multiple organ failure) can return to school or childcare after: 

  •    At least 20 days have passed since symptoms first appeared AND
  •    At least 24 hours have passed since last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications AND
  •    Symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) have improved
  
  

  Asymptomatic persons with confirmed COVID-19 who are not severely immunocompromised can return to school or childcare after: 

  •    At least 10 days have passed since the positive laboratory test and the person remains asymptomatic (day 0 is test day)
  
  Asymptomatic persons with confirmed COVID-19 who are severely immunocompromised can return to school or childcare after:

  •    At least 10 days have passed since the positive laboratory test and the person remains asymptomatic (day 0 is test day)
  
  Note, asymptomatic persons who test positive and later develop symptoms should follow the guidance for symptomatic persons above. 
  
  

  Asymptomatic persons or those with negative COVID-19 testing who HAVE KNOWN EXPOSURE to a person with COVID-19 can return to school or childcare after:

  •    They complete the recommended time period of quarantine of 14 days, with last date of exposure being day 0. 
  •    Of note, if this person is tested for COVID-19 during the 14-day quarantine period, a negative test result would not change or decrease the time a person is quarantined.
  •    Currently The Preschool continues to follow the 14-day quarantine period, which is noted to be THE SAFEST option by CDC and DPH.  The requirements of socially distancing and masking in order to shorten a quarantine are not feasible in our young student population at this time
  https://dph.georgia.gov/contact
  
  

  Both CDC and DPH DO NOT recommend using a test-based strategy for children or adults returning to school or childcare (2 negative tests at least 24 hours apart) after COVID-19 infection. ‡ CDC has reported prolonged PCR positive test results without evidence of infectiousness for up to 12 weeks. 
  
  

  Please note: If a household member tests positive for COVID-19, all individuals living in the household will be required to quarantine for 14 days after their LAST contact with the infected family member.  If the ill household member is not able to fully isolate from the rest of the family, the quarantine period for well family members is 24 days (10 days of isolation for ill individual + 14 days of quarantine for remainder of the family).

• COVID-19 Testing & School Attendance

  If anyone in your household is awaiting COVID-19 test results, DO NOT send your child to school until the test has resulted negative and has been communicated to the school nurses.  This does not apply to those parents who are routinely tested for work.  However, if you are feeling unwell or have had known, suspected or potential exposure to COVID-19, do NOT send your child to school.  If you are unsure about whether your child can be on campus, we ask you to err on the side of caution, keep your child off campus, and contact the nurse. 

• Children with Exposed Family Members

  Siblings of exposed household members are NOT required to quarantine with the exposed family member, AS LONG AS the exposed member is able to effectively quarantine away from the rest of the family.  Per CDC, a quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.  To effectively quarantine, the exposed individual needs to maintain social distance from others at all times – no close contact between household members.
   
  Additionally, the exposed individual should check his or her temperature twice a day and monitor for symptoms. It is clearly unsafe for children of a certain age to effectively quarantine without the help of a parent. 
  
  The ability to comply with these guidelines depends on many factors, such as the age of the exposed individual, the age of children in the home, and the set-up of your house.  Making a commitment to effectively quarantine an exposed member of your family from young children or siblings is not an easy task. An unsuccessful quarantine for the exposed individual could have serious consequences for our campus.  We ask that if you choose this option, you commit to making it effective.  Regardless of what choice you make, please communicate the household exposure and quarantine plans to the school nurse at nurse@prumc.org.
  
  

  Please know that this is not a universal policy, and if you have other children who attend other schools, we suggest you check in with them regarding their policies.  
  
  

  Of course, should the exposed individual become ill, all household members are considered exposed and expected to quarantine.  Should this happen to you, please let us know.  

• Temperature & Symptom Checks

  In addition to your role in assessing your child's health each morning prior to school, your child's temperature will be taken by our staff upon arrival.  Toddlers will have their temperature taken when they are walked in for drop off.  Twos, Threes, PreK and 5/6 will have their temperature taken after carpool upon entering the building. Anyone with a temperature of 100 degrees F or higher will not be permitted on campus. 

• Masking

  Face masks are required for all students in Twos, Threes, Pre-K and 5/6.  Masks are not required for our Toddler students.  Per the CDC, children younger than two should NOT wear a mask.  In accordance with the CDC, cloth face coverings should be washed daily.  Disposable masks are intended for single use.
   
  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-to-wash-cloth-face-coverings.html
  
  We encourage you to help your child learn to put on and remove their masks independently.  We also reinforce this practice at school.
  
  Please send an extra mask in your child's bag in a paper bag or ziploc in case the original mask gets soiled or wet during the day. 

• Travel during COVID-19

  Click HERE to view CDC recommendations for travel during COVID-19.

  
  
  

   

• Covid Vocabulary

  It is important to define COVID-19 related terminology so you can best understand how we manage these cases and notify anyone who has come into contact with cases.
  
  “Case” is defined as a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.
  
  “Contact” refers to a person who had exposure to a case while the case was infected.
  
  “Infected” is defined as the period during the illness or within two days before the illness began.
  
  “Direct contact” is defined as the following: When a person comes closer than 6 feet to a case for at least 15 minutes, provided care at home to the case, had direct physical contact with the case (touched, hugged, or kissed them), shared eating or drinking utensils with the case, and/or on whom the case sneezed, coughed, or other action which is concerning for spreading respiratory droplets. Individuals who have come into direct contact with the case must quarantine for 14 days.