Buckeye Reporter

Lakota Local Schools announced updates to its COVID-19 quarantine and isolation protocols to follow CDC and ODH guidance. Below is the letter to staff and families Superintendent Matt Miller shared on Jan. 3, 2022.

We were very excited to welcome our students and staff back to school this morning and we hope that you enjoyed a relaxing winter break.

Today, our COVID Response Team met to review the latest COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Recently, the CDC announced changes to its guidance surrounding isolation for individuals testing positive for COVID and quarantines for individuals identified as close contacts. ODH has also updated its “Mask to Stay; Test to Play” guidance for schools. 

Consistent with this guidance, beginning immediately, the following changes will be implemented:

• If you have tested positive for COVID-19:
  • Stay home for the next five days, regardless of symptoms or vaccination status, and follow isolation procedures.
  • On day six, if you have been fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of medications and other symptoms are improving, you may return to school if you wear a mask for the next five days.

• If you are identified as a close contact in a school setting:
  • You may continue to come to school if you wear a mask for 10 days after your last date of exposure, regardless of vaccination status.
  • Self-monitor or parent-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Isolate and get tested if any symptoms appear.
  • Follow all “Mask to Stay; Test to Play” guidance.

• If you are identified as a close contact outside of school:
  • If you are fully vaccinated, continue attending school, but wear a mask for 10 days after your last exposure.
  • If you are not fully vaccinated, stay home for five days after your last exposure and then wear a mask around others for the next five days.
  • Regardless of vaccination status, all close contacts should test on day five.

Please visit our COVID webpage for more information, including our updated school-related protocols.

Our families and staff have very strong feelings regarding masks - on both sides of the debate. Prior to break, 40% of our positive cases were the result of household spread. Despite the change in our mask policy, the number of cases related to being a close contact at school remained very low. As we return from winter break, we will continue to closely monitor our numbers. If we see a spike in the number of positive cases at any building, we will review with the administrator to determine the cause and may reinstate the mask mandate for that school, if necessary. 

 As always, information and guidance related to COVID-19 changes quickly. We may adjust our protocols as new information is shared by ODH and the Butler County General Health District.

 If you have not been vaccinated or received your booster, please consider it. We continue to strongly urge all of our staff and students to wear a mask to school, regardless of their vaccination status. 

Original source can be found here.