The Maine Department of Education will allow schools with mandatory masking to stop identifying close contacts of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, as the highly contagious omicron variant has proven overwhelming for school nurses .
The policy change came just 13 days after the department issued new guidelines allowing students infected with the virus to return to school sooner. The rules will apply to the vast majority of school districts in Maine, as most have indoor mask requirements.
Schools have routinely used contact tracing as a tool to contain local spread since the start of the pandemic. Typically, school nurses identify those who have potentially been exposed to someone who has tested positive, to advise them to self-quarantine in an effort to contain the virus.
But with the omicron variant spreading from person to person so easily and quickly, experts have begun to question whether contact tracing is an effective way to tackle the current outbreak.
“Trying to catch omicron through contact tracing is like trying to catch a bullet train on a bicycle,” Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.
This variant also appears to spread to others early in an infection. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people infected with COVID-19 are typically contagious two days before symptoms start, making quick and effective contact tracing especially difficult, the Department of Health said. Maine Education.
“School principals have reported that rapid and thorough contact tracing is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for school personnel given the rapid spread of the omicron variant,” the department said in a statement. communicated.
The arduous process of contact tracing is usually done by school nurses, who also usually notify parents of students who are close contacts. Giving districts the option to pause practice will allow staff to spend more time on other vital COVID-related tasks, including performing bulk testing, the education department said.
The ministry has encouraged districts that have the resources to effectively contact research to continue to do so.
The measure was backed by Maine School Boards Association director Steve Bailey and Maine School Superintendents Association director Eileen King. King said the change “brings some relief to school staff, especially our nurses.”
“Schools that have universal masking policies in place for all indoor school-sponsored activities will be able to focus their time and attention on other strategies that ensure the physical and emotional health and safety of staff and students,” she said.
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