New Guidance To Be Unveiled, Take Effect After Spring Break.
BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Palm Beach County School District is rescinding most COVID protocols in place for the past two years. It was Spring Break, 2020, when COVID hit hard and the Palm Beach County School District moved to “distance learning.” Now, the school district is set to return to normalcy.
This letter is set to be transmitted to hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, parents, and employees Friday afternoon:
The District is pleased to share with you that due to the dramatically decreasing COVID-19 transmission rate, presently below 5% in Palm Beach County, and new direction from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Superintendent Mike Burke is relaxing pandemic protocols. New procedures will be in place when students return from Spring Break on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
The CDC no longer universally recommends contact tracing to track and contain COVID-19. The agency is only recommending that process in high-risk settings and for groups that may be high risk. As a result, contact tracing in our schools and at District ancillary facilities will end, effective March 22. Parents and guardians will still be notified by the school when someone in their child’s class has tested positive.
School nurses will continue to test symptomatic students who have a consent form on file. For your convenience, the District is also continually updating the list of testing and vaccination sites located throughout the County. That information is available on the Coronavirus webpage.
Additionally, an initiative called Test to Know is in place at numerous schools. It allows non-symptomatic students and staff who feel they may have been exposed, to receive an on-site rapid antigen test.
Facial covering protocol will also be relaxed. Currently, masks are strongly encouraged for students, staff, and visitors. As of March 22, masks will be optional for those groups. It should be noted, however, that several non-District facilities in Palm Beach County still require facial coverings. This may impact students and staff who are asked to wear a facial covering during field trips or other off-campus activities.
While the District will continue to remain vigilant with all of the COVID-19 transmission mitigation strategies that we have had in place throughout the pandemic, we respectfully ask you to continue to also remain vigilant and exercise your best judgment to help keep students and staff safe. Effective measures include frequent hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and other measures intended to keep our schools healthy. We also remind students and staff of the importance of staying home if you are exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms.
