The Utah State Department of Health recently announced several updates to the COVID-19 School Manual in relationship to ‘Test-to-Stay’ and ‘Test-to-Play’ programs. The updates include changes to the quarantine process, take effect on January 4. One of the most substantial changes to the quarantine policy relates to wearing masks and removing individuals from quarantining if they were exposed to someone with COVID-19. If an exposure occurs at school and both people wore masks at the time of exposure, students, teachers, and staff do not have to quarantine if:
- The school can verify that both people were wearing face masks as defined by public health orders, and
- The person who was exposed does not have any symptoms of COVID-19.
Parents will be contacted by the school to let them know their student may have been exposed and to watch for symptoms. Students will be allowed to attend school on modified quarantine, where they will be watched and monitored over the 14-day period. If at any time during the 14 days after their exposure a person develops symptoms of COVID-19, he or she should isolate and get tested.