Updated by Director of Student Health, Approved by CIRT

March 14, 2022 By Maureen Zambito

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., March 14, 2022 – Please find below updated contact tracing guidelines as approved by the West Liberty University Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) and following CDC and Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department best practices.

Definition of terms

• Quarantine – separation from exposed people
• Isolation – separation from infected ipeople, even without symptoms
• Close contact in higher education – within 6 feet of someone for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more in a 24 hour period, regardless of masking practices.

Students/faculty/staff should report if they are diagnosed with COVID-19 or if they were named close contact of a positive case of COVID-19 using the positive report form linked here.

If you test positive for COVID-19 (isolate)

Everyone, regardless of their vaccination status:

• Stay home for 5 days. If you are a student residing on campus and cannot return home to self-isolate, WLU will attempt to provide you with self-isolation space based on availability.
• Complete the positive report form, indicating that you have tested positive.
• Inform your close contacts of the possible exposure (contacts see info below)
• Inform your professors that you cannot attend classes in person.
• If you tested off-campus, upload a copy of your positive test result showing your name and test date to the Student Health Portal. Home tests will not be accepted at this time.
• If you have symptoms and your symptoms are gone or greatly resolved after 5 days, you can leave isolation. If you have a fever, you should continue to self-isolate until your fever goes away. Raised
• Health Services will endeavor to contact you before your isolation ends and send you a written release of isolation.
• You will be advised to continue wearing a mask around others for another 5 days.
• Athletes must be seen by Athletic Training before resuming sport participation.

If you have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 (quarantine)
I. If you:

• have been boosted Where
• Completed primary series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in the last 5 months Where
• Completed primary series of J&J vaccine in the last 2 months

Then you should:

• Wear a mask around others for 10 days
• Test on Day 5. If you are a student, you can contact Student Health Services to schedule a free COVID test at 304-336-8049, Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. to 3 p.m. or you can test at an off-campus location and upload results to the Student Health Portal. Employees should request a test at one of the local testing sites, such as Doctors Urgent Care or Roxby Labs.

1. If you:

• Completed Pfizer or Moderna primary vaccine series more than 5 months ago and is not boosted Where
• Completed the first streak of J&J over 2 months ago and is not boosted Where
• Are not vaccinated

Then you should:

Stay home for 5 days. After that, continue wearing a mask around others for another 5 days.

• Fill in the positive report form, specifying that you are a direct contact
• Inform your teachers that you cannot attend classes in person
• Test on Day 5. You can contact Student Health Services to schedule a free COVID test at 304-336-8049, Monday through Friday 7-3 p.m. or you can test at an off-campus location and upload the results to the student health portal. . Employees should request a test at one of the local testing sites, such as Doctors Urgent Care or Roxby Labs.

If you develop symptoms, get tested and stay home

NOTE: Family Contacts are people who share a living space with someone diagnosed with COVID-19. This includes bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, kitchens, etc. This also includes roommates in on-campus residence halls, apartments and houses, and roommates in on-campus halls of residence. Family contacts Homework quarantine if exposed to the case.

• If the contact can not separated from the case inside the home, the contact should be quarantined for the case’s (minimum) 5-day isolation period plus an additional 5 days. The contact will then have to wear a mask for an additional 5 days.

The separation requirements are as follows:

• The case should never be in the same room as household members.
• The case cannot share plates, cups, dishes or phones with household members.
• The case should have its own bathroom. Not possible? Housekeeping should do daily cleaning.

If household contacts develop symptoms of COVID-19, they should get tested.

*The protocol is subject to change

Sources:

If you have been around someone with COVID-19, you should take precautions to avoid spreading the disease. You may find out from a friend, family member or workplace that you have been in close contact with someone who has symptoms or who has tested positive for COVID-19. This puts you at a higher risk of getting sick and spreading the disease to others.

Close contact means spending at least 15 minutes or more within 6 feet of someone (family, friend, co-worker, acquaintance, or someone you don’t know) in a day, with or without a mask.

If you had close contact

1. Follow quarantine guidelines, including wearing a mask. Isolation and quarantine advice

2. If you can, get tested 5 days after exposure or if you develop symptoms. It is best to get tested 5 days after being exposed. The test may not work if you get tested too soon. You can get tested through your doctor or at a community testing site. Call 211 for more information. Currently, many people are looking for tests and resources are limited. Test appointment can be hard to find.

3. If you develop symptoms or test positive, follow isolation advice. Keep away from others, even in your own home, so you don’t make others sick.

4. Continue to wear a properly fitted mask for an additional 5 days if you are quarantined for a shorter period.

HOWELL, NJ — School districts in New Jersey have begun announcing changes to their existing COVID-19 protocols as the state’s mask mandate ends March 7. Among them are Howell Township Public Schools, which recently announced a halt to COVID-19 contact tracing efforts.

On Wednesday, Feb. 9, Howell Township Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Isola announced that beginning Thursday, the school district would no longer be looking for contracts. This means that close contacts at school will no longer be identified and will have to be quarantined.

“However, symptomatic individuals, close household contacts, and those who test positive for COVID-19 will still need to follow appropriate exclusion protocols,” Isola said in a letter to parents in the district.

Howell will also transition to a mask-optional environment in accordance with Governor Murphy’s recent announcement. In the same letter, Isola wrote that the remote learning program would only become available again for students in grades 3-8.

“We are committed to providing a safe learning environment for all individuals and we will monitor available data relating to COVID-19. We will maintain good hygiene and safety protocols, such as physical distancing wherever possible,” Isola continued.

Any additional changes to the district’s COVID-19 protocols will be updated as needed throughout the remainder of the school year.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is no longer conducting COVID-19 contact tracing at schools where universal masking is in place, in accordance with updates to the district’s mitigation plan announced last month . Additionally, staff and students who test positive and show symptoms of COVID-19 are now allowed to return to school or work as early as five days after testing positive, provided the symptoms have resolved. for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication. .

KPBSD communications director Pegge Erkeneff said on Thursday that the decision to halt contact tracing in schools where universal masking is observed was partly due to a spike in cases that nurses and district staff ” couldn’t keep up” in mid-January. A review of the number of close contact students who later tested positive, as well as the time it took for school staff to contact the trace were also factored into the decision, Erkeneff said.

When a school moves to universal masking, Erkeneff said, the time of nurses and staff is “no longer spent” on contact tracing. More generally, Erkeneff said the trend of halting contact tracing is something the KPBSD leadership is watching.

“In mid-January, with the increase in positive cases of COVID-19, our staff were unable to follow up on contact tracing,” Erkeneff said via email.

Erkeneff confirmed that stopping contact tracing in schools where universal masking is in place will skew close contact data reflected on the district’s COVID-19 dashboard by reducing those numbers. She said the dashboard will still reflect data from people who self-report and at schools where contact tracing is still happening.

As of Thursday, at least 13 of KPBSD’s 42 schools — representing about 2,800 students and staff in the district — were operating with universal masking. To determine whether a school enters or exits Universal Indoor Masking, KPBSD uses the criteria outlined in the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan.

A “conversation” between district administrators and school site administrators is triggered when a school district meets four of the five criteria set out in the plan. Factors considered include a school community positivity rate of 3% or greater, a student absenteeism rate of 25% or greater, the capacity of local and regional hospitals and intensive care units, the number of cases of COVID-19 of one community per 100,000 people and the impact of school staff absenteeism. rate.

Additionally, under changes announced last month, KPBSD staff and students who test positive and show symptoms of COVID-19 are now allowed to return to school or work as early as five days after tested positive. That’s as long as the symptoms go away for at least 24 hours without the help of medication.

Under the district’s previous iteration of the policy, which was announced Jan. 11, COVID-positive students and staff could return to school or work five days after testing positive, but only if they were asymptomatic.

Schools will still follow the district’s symptom-free protocol and apply multi-level COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Students and staff are also encouraged to take advantage of testing resources made available by the district, such as free at-home testing kits, in-school testing, and testing from community partners.

According to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard, which went live last August, more than 1,650 positive COVID-19 test results have been reported to the district by students and more than 350 positive results have been reported by staff. KPBSD’s COVID-19 Dashboard can be viewed at covid19.kpbsd.org/dashboard.

Contact reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

The Coatesville Area School District will no longer conduct contact tracing in accordance with its updated health and safety plan, approved by the board at the Jan. 25 meeting.

Superintendent Tomás Hanna said the decision to end contact tracing was based on recent guidance from the Chester County Health Department.

Administration recommends that all students, staff, and visitors continue to follow masking guidelines in all district buildings and on school transportation. Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 are asked to self-isolate for a period of five days from the date of onset of their symptoms before returning to school. According to Hanna, the district administration will continue to review local transmission rates and make updated recommendations to the council as needed.

The district continues to manage its $9.3 million budget gap for the 2022-23 school year. The $9.3 million total does not include salary or benefit increases, charter school costs, regular or special education costs, or contract escalations for the coming year. .

Hanna presented options to the council on how the district could work to close its budget gap.

Options include exploring how the district can use emergency relief funds for elementary and secondary schools to offset expenses directly related to COVID-19 relief and evaluating how this can reduce programming and personnel costs. Hanna stressed that if the district were to make any program or staff reductions, it would aim to make choices that will have the least direct impact on Coatesville students.

“If we find areas in staffing that we can reduce to help balance the budget, first we need to weigh those options with the impact on student achievement,” Hanna said.

The next board meeting will be at 6 p.m. on February 8.

UNION COUNTY, North Carolina — In an 8-1 vote Tuesday night, the Union County Public Schools Board of Education approved an end to contact tracing and quarantine requirements.

Citing a joint resolution approved with Union County commissioners, approved last month, the council said there was now a marked drop in COVID-19 cases.

Falling cases were one of the criteria for ending contact tracing and quarantines.

What do you want to know

Starting Feb. 7, UCPS will end contact tracing and quarantine policies

The council, citing the never-ending nature of the pandemic and the desire to keep children in school, voted 8-1

Council members say the decision has the support of the county health director

In a document from Union County Health Director Dennis Joyner, posted on the council’s online records platform, he noted the drop in COVID-19 cases.

“Over the past week, Union County has experienced a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases,” the statement said.

You can read the full document here.

The vote comes after board members and commissioners met on January 25 to vote on a new joint resolution, saying they would end the policies when cases drop.

“Independent of NCDHHS action, we anticipate changes to our approach to school quarantine and contact tracing procedures when we determine that cases in Union County are declining in the current surge. We expect this to happen in the coming weeks. Our aim will be to develop a collaborative approach that allows children to stay in school if they are not positive or symptomatic – the new approach is being developed and will be provided to the public in the coming week(s)” , said the resolution read.

You can read the full joint resolution here.

The new policy will come into effect on Monday, February 7. School staff will notify parents of changes to the policy, its impact on students, and the options parents have to prevent students from attending school if they are exposed to COVID-19.

“I move that Union County Public Schools end contact tracing and quarantine requirements beginning this Monday, February 7,” said Vice President Kathy Heintel, who introduced the motion.

Board member Gary Sides said despite the vote, they wanted to make it clear that students and staff who test positive should still stay away from schools.

“We are not changing our policy of students or staff who test positive with the virus, with COVID, allowed in the building, on the property. They are yet to be isolated. There has been no change. Let me be very clear, like if you have the flu, stay home. If you test positive and you are sick, you stay home,” Sides said after the motion was filed.

Board member John Kirkpatrick was the only one to vote against, saying it was too early to end mitigation efforts.

“We have a 41% HIV rate, in the county, and we don’t have a mask mandate, which helps keep kids in school. Agreed. And we are preparing to eliminate contact tracing in our schools, the only measures we have to deal with this pandemic,” Kirkpatrick said.

“I think it can be a very dangerous decision right now to remove the only measures we have to keep children safe, not only children but also to keep families safe,” Kirkpatrick continued. “I don’t think that’s a wise decision.”

Heintel hit back at her claim, saying county schools were isolating positive cases among students and staff. She also said several other states have taken similar steps to end certain COVID-19 policies.

“It’s not new in the United States to do this,” Heintel said.

Several board members have repeatedly said the never-ending nature of the pandemic is part of the reason they want to end contact tracing and quarantines. They have said in public meetings over the past few months that the policies are keeping what they call healthy children and staff out of schools and away from education.

These concerns were reflected in the language of the joint resolution, approved last month.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that this virus is not going away and that we are going to have to learn to live with it in a way that does not unreasonably risk our children’s education and mental health,” the agency said. common resolution in part.

This is not the first time the council has made changes to contact tracing and quarantine procedures. Earlier this school year, the board voted to have school staff no longer take the lead in contact tracing and quarantines, saying it was the duty of the county health department. After a standoff with the state, the issue was resolved and a working agreement was reached with the health department to run the practice.

On Tuesday night, board members said the policy change had Joyner’s approval. Spectrum News 1 has asked Union County to provide an update on Joyner’s position on ending contact tracing and quarantine policies.

The statement detailing the declining cases, provided online by the county health department, did not contain any endorsement or criticism of the council’s decision or the planned motion.

Minutes later, the board again voted 8 to 1 to keep masks optional in Union County schools until next month. Kirkpatrick was the only vote against.

YOLO COUNTY (CBS13) – CBS13 has learned that several people have tested positive for Covid-19 and have not received calls or text messages from contact tracers for weeks.

This raised two questions: are people unknowingly exposing others and is contact tracing necessary?

READ MORE: Solution for smoking? California bill would eliminate litter left behind by smokers

A person will test positive for Covid-19 and will only receive a call or text from contact tracers after they have already tested negative, meaning anyone they have seen in person in the meantime has already potentially been infected.

“If contact tracing doesn’t happen in a timely manner, it won’t help,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, professor of medicine and public health at USC.

Dr Klausner says that with the omicron Covid-19 variant prevalent, the program is of little value.

“Omicron has a shorter incubation period,” he said. “To effectively monitor omicron through contact tracing, calls should be made within 24-48 hours of a person testing positive.”

And it is not possible. Due to high demand for testing, local labs are being beefed up and positive results take several days to reach the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) which is in charge of contact tracing notifications.

“Last week in Yolo County, we had the most positive tests we’ve ever had,” said Yolo County spokesman John Fout.

Yolo County has had a record 238 cases per 100,000 people.

READ MORE: Elk Grove Horse Rescue stolen over the weekend

“When you have that many tests, you’re going to have test delays,” Fout said.

Delayed contact tracing means potential for more Covid-19 infections.

“There are a few backups on the state system. The state system is a kind of failsafe. Other systems are especially schools,” Fout said. “If they have a positive contact, they will let people know, as well as workplaces. When there is a positive result, they notify everyone in the office.

So what is contact tracing good for? According to job search site Indeed, the average salary for contact tracers is $27.83 per hour.

Dr. Klausner says the money spent may not be worth it anymore.

“The contact tracing program should be redesigned,” Dr. Klausner said. “Staff could come out to motivate people to get vaccinated. They could also be reassigned to case management.

This would mean focusing only on reaching out to at-risk populations and connecting them to medical care.

NO MORE NEWS: Proposed homeless shelter next to Sacramento Children’s Foster Home

CBS13 reached out to CDPH to ask about delays in their system and if they were considering a new role for contact tracers. We haven’t had a response.

CANTON – Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department will stop contact tracing and investigating cases except those they identify as the most vulnerable populations. These include older adults, school-aged children, people in daycares, nursing homes, health care facilities and other congregate settings.

Additionally, Isolation and Quarantine are moving to an honor system. The department said in a news release that those who test positive should self-isolate and notify any close contacts who may have been exposed.

“You may not receive a call from St. Lawrence County/New York State Public Health if you have tested positive or been exposed to COVID-19. However, you will still be notified by where you were tested of your results,” the department said. “People who have tested positive will be required to self-isolate and anyone who has been exposed must self-quarantine.”

County officials cite New York state’s “evolving priorities” as the reason for the change.

“We are seeing a higher number of new infections every day than we have seen at any time throughout the pandemic and staff are unable to reach all cases and contacts in a timely manner. In an effort to increase the effectiveness of contact tracing and our response, our department will transition to a self-directed isolation and quarantine process,” said Jolene F. Munger, acting county director of public health, in a press release.

The county has reported 200 to 300 new cases of COVID-19 per day so far in 2022.

Anyone notified that they are a close contact should self-quarantine, unless exempt, and monitor for symptoms. They should get tested on the fifth day after exposure, or sooner if symptoms develop.

For more information on who is considered a close contact, see the State Department of Health’s Contact Tracing and Case Investigation Online FAQ at wdt.me/covidFAQ.

Employers, schools, daycares, and health care facilities should work with staff, students, and customers to help them identify and report exposures that occur in their facilities. For schools, this may mean a change to general notification that a student in a class has tested positive and, in some situations, students may still be excluded from school, the department said.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the county and across the country, health officials say it’s vital that all residents continue to follow what they call “the six pillars of prevention” to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The six pillars are self-isolating and notifying close contacts of a positive result; self-quarantine in case of exposure; wear a mask in public; hand washing; staying home when sick; get tested if sick or exposed; and get vaccinated and boosted.

Anyone who is not vaccinated or strengthened can visit the county’s website, www.stlawco.org/Departments/PublicHealth, or call 315-386-2325 for a list of vaccination clinics and to schedule an appointment. .

“We must continue to apply the six pillars of prevention to protect others and prevent the spread when we test positive for COVID-19,” Ms. Munger said. “The basic isolation and quarantine processes do not change; however, it will now emphasize personal responsibility to do the right thing and SLCPH would like to thank those who complied with public health orders.

People who have been notified that they have tested positive for COVID-19 can submit an online isolation request form at wdt.me/covidForms or visit the county website.

To determine the length of isolation or quarantine, visit the county’s website. For specific guidance for people living in communities and healthcare workers, see the state DOH website.

Anyone who tests positive at home should submit results online at shorturl.at/glmDFor, call 315-286-2325 or email SLCCOVID19SharedMailbox@stlaw.org.

The spike in COVID-19 infections in Pennsylvania has prevented state investigators from contacting all positive cases, reflecting an evolving reality and a hampered public health response to the pandemic.

State investigators traced about 10% of the 32,676 COVID-19 infections between Dec. 10, 2021, and Jan. 9, according to state data provided to LNP | Lancasters online. By comparison, about a third of the cases between early June and early July were investigated – or just 6,336.

Without contact from a public health professional, the more than 1.1 million Pennsylvanians who rely on the COVID Alert PA app will not receive accurate information about possible exposures. The app requires HIV-positive people to enter an interviewer code.

The surge in cases has also led investigators to focus on cases of particular concern – those associated with long-term care facilities, those among people under 18 or over 65 as well as clusters.

“After a positive test result, public health professionals attempt to reach as many people as possible to find out where they have been and who they have contacted to advise of potential exposure,” Maggi said. Barton, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. , said in an email.

Barton added: “While case investigations and contact tracing are an important part of the COVID-19 response, public health professionals are unable to contact everyone as cases represent in average more than 25,000 cases per day.”

The average daily number of COVID-19 infections has exceeded more than 20,000 since Dec. 22, 2021, according to state data.

Pennsylvania has nearly 500 contact tracers statewide, 237 in the jurisdiction of the state health department, which includes Lancaster County.

Contact tracing is universally considered an essential strategy to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.

“Even as more Pennsylvanians are getting vaccinated every day, case investigations and contact tracing remain critical in our response to COVID-19,” Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said in July during publication of the department’s monthly report on contact tracing.

State investigators for this report looked at infections from June 10, 2021 through July 9, 2021, conducting 6,336 investigations, which accounted for about a third of positive cases.

The state health department does these surveys for counties, like Lancaster, that don’t have a local health department.

The positivity rate in Lancaster from January 7 to 13 reached 38.2%, indicating an extremely high rate of transmission.

The World Health Organization recommends a rate below 5% to control the spread.

“Unfortunately, during extreme community spread, contact tracing becomes impossible due to widespread disease transmission,” WellSpan Health spokesperson Ryan Coyle said in an email. “We encourage anyone with symptoms with known exposure to get tested as soon as possible.”

The way contact tracing works is that a public health professional contacts people who test positive for COVID-19 to gather information and provide guidance.

The state had provided monthly updates on its contact tracing efforts, but those stopped in July.

The department “didn’t have the bandwidth” to continue updates, Barton said.

“The virus will become endemic”

In the 30 days between Dec. 10, 2021, and Jan. 9, Pennsylvania recorded nearly 248,000 cases of COVID-19 that public health professionals failed to investigate.

With so few people reached by state investigators, much of the contact tracing effort falls on the public.

“Most healthcare organizations are understaffed and overwhelmed right now, so the staff to do contact tracing just aren’t there,” said Jenni Black, quality and compliance manager. at Union Community Care, in an email.

Black added: “When a person knows they have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, they are more likely to be cautious around high-risk loved ones and other people in general.”

Union Community, a federally licensed healthcare center, was among the first organizations in Lancaster County to conduct contact tracing using a Google map.

The county’s effort to trace possible COVID-19 contacts and exposures ended in May 2021.

Patients who test positive – if they know of known contacts – are encouraged to tell close friends, family and neighbors when they first started feeling ill as well as the two days before symptoms .

“At this point in the pandemic, contact tracing has a different role,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said in an email to LNP | Lancasters online.

Adalja added: “He should really focus on unusual events, a super spread situation and not something to do anyway. The virus will become endemic and public health measures must reflect this reality. »

All public health officials with whom LNP | LancasterOnline took the floor, repeated the same refrain: that being fully vaccinated with a booster dose remains the best defense against serious diseases.

“Now is not the time for our community to let our guard down; continue to wear a mask, socially distance, wash your hands, avoid large gatherings and get vaccinated and receive a booster if you qualify to protect yourself and your loved ones,” said Dr. Michael Ripchinski, clinical director of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, said in an email.