State eases Covid-19 guidelines in schools

Last Wednesday, State Health Director Dr. Kristina Box announced a change in school guidelines for operations during the pandemic.

Explaining that schools have had a lower than expected rate of spread, the Indiana State Department of Health is allowing additional flexibility to schools regarding the identification of close contacts in the classroom setting.

Under the new guidelines that went into effect Monday, quarantines aren’t necessary if students and teachers exposed to infection at school were at least three feet apart, facing forward, and wearing masks at all times. Additionally, schools may shorten current 14-day quarantines to seven days if the person exposed has a negative nasal swab test at least five days after exposure.

In Dubois County, Greater Jasper Consolidated School Corporation released an overview of the impact Covid-19 precautions and infections have had on students the first semester. According to the corporation, 1,911 students (this is a cumulative number of all student quarantines included repeated quarantines by the same student) and 78 staff members were quarantined during the first semester of school because of exposure to COVID-19.

Of those, 45 students and seven staff members tested positive. The 45 students who tested positive were 2.4 percent of the total quarantined. Among staff, only seven tested positive for Covid-19. The majority did not become ill and returned to work after quarantine.

Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said the new recommendations are in line with current federal guidelines and that infection spread has been rare at schools when masks are being worn.

This flexibility only applies in the classroom setting. This does not pertain to lunch, athletics, etc.