November 16, 2020 | An Update from St. Mark's Dear St. Mark's Families,
A: A number of you have reached out with a variety of different days recommended by various hospitals and companies. We follow CDC guidelines, which suggest 14 days for students and faculty who do not exhibit symptoms. We have been in contact with local medical experts who advised we maintain the 14 day requirement. Please keep in mind schools are not hospitals needing to staff inpatient units nor companies with different resources, abilities to distance adults, shields, etc. We deal with multiple children in classrooms, on playgrounds, sharing bathrooms, etc. We want your children back as soon as is safely possible, and we will share any updates as they become available.
A: We are addressing this question with our medical panel to assure we are aligned with the protocols specific to schools. In some cases, to be discussed on an individual basis, your child may be allowed to return to school due to immunity, but if your child's entire cohort is at home, he/she will also need to be home.
A: Based on CDC guidelines, even if a student has no symptoms and receives a negative COVID-19 test, he/she still needs to remain home for 14 days to assure symptoms do not develop after the test. Additionally, any time an entire cohort is in distance learning, all students in that cohort will be in distance learning by necessity.
A: We are committed to let you know just as soon as we can, and we were alerted to this case late in the evening. Please be mindful if you have a COVID-19 situation to alert the COVID-19 Team email at your first possible opportunity.
A: We have a team of St. Mark's staff, including our School Nurse, that meets each week to study any changes that have been announced by the CDC, Harris County, The State Department of Health, and TEA. This team gathers weekly input from our medical panel, seeking guidance on any new information available. It's our goal to have all students in school all the time that it is safe to do so.
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