COVID-19 Response

SYMPTOMS, POSITIVE TESTING, AND RETURN TO SCHOOL

STUDENTS WHO BECOME ILL AT SCHOOL

If COVID-19-like symptom onset occurs during school, the student will report to the new Infirmary on the first floor adjacent to the Dean of Student Life Office. To address the health needs of all our students, La Salle has created this isolation area, separate from and in addition to the Nurses’ Office. Upon arrival at the Infirmary the student will be evaluated by the nurse. Upon confirmation of COVID-19 symptoms, quarantine and nursing care will occur until the student can be picked up. Parents should be readily available by phone throughout the school day in the event their child becomes ill. Parents are asked to pick up their child within one hour; or permission is given for drivers to drive themselves home.

POSITIVE STUDENTS AND CONTACT TRACING

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) and the Montgomery County Office of Public Health (MCOPH) are responsible for tracking and mitigating the spread of communicable diseases, including COVID-19, through the Commonwealth and the county. In the event of an outbreak of COVID-19 in our area, DOH or MCOPH will inform La Salle if a person with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 was present at the school or a school event while infectious. The DOH or MCOPH will then advise the school regarding next steps. It is the responsibility of the DOH or MCOPH staff to contact the student or staff member with COVID-19, inform close contacts of their possible exposure, and give instructions to those involved, including siblings and other household members, regarding self-quarantine and exclusions. The DOH or MCOPH will not identify individuals involved to the school community at large. La Salle will take every measure possible to maintain the confidentiality of the affected person disclosed to La Salle for purposes of contact tracing. 

La Salle is obliged to notify the DOH or MCOPH if, and when, it learns of a potential exposure to COVID-19 by a student, staff member, or school visitor. The DOH or MCOPH will guide La Salle as to appropriate next steps, which may include closing the school for a short or extended period of time or asking children and staff who have come in close contact (defined as greater than 15 minutes of interaction from less than 1.8 m (6 feet) away) with an infected individual to quarantine at home for 14 days. Assigned classroom seats and self-selected Student Center lunch table seats help us in assisting with these contact tracing efforts. Anyone who develops symptoms during that time should contact their health care provider and follow La Salle’s Return to School Policy.

RETURN TO SCHOOL

Unless advised to do otherwise by the DOH or MCOPH, La Salle College High School will not allow any child who has exhibited any of the Symptoms for Surveillance, whether at home or at school, to return to school unless the following criteria have been met:

A SYMPTOMATIC student who has tested POSITIVE for COVID-19 may not return to school until their symptoms have resolved AND at least 10 days have passed from the day their symptoms began AND they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. Having tested positive for COVID-19, the student may not return to school until each of these criteria is met – a negative test obtained prior to the end of this quarantine does not clear the student for return to school. Once all three criteria are met, the COVID-19 positive individual does NOT need a repeat COVID test or a doctor’s note to return to school. 

A SYMPTOMATIC student who has NOT BEEN TESTED for COVID-19 may not return to school until their symptoms (if any) have resolved AND at least 10 days have passed from the day their symptoms began AND they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.

A SYMPTOMATIC student who has tested NEGATIVE for COVID-19 may not return to school until their symptoms (if any) have resolved AND they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. A child who is still symptomatic after 72 hours should quarantine at home for 14 days. Consider retesting in 3-5 days if symptoms persist.

A SYMPTOMATIC student determined to have an alternative cause for their illness by their primary medical care provider may not return to school until their symptoms have resolved AND they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.

An ASYMPTOMATIC student with a KNOWN or PRESUMED EXPOSURE to COVID-19 may not return to school until at least 14 days have passed since their last known or presumed exposure AND they have been cleared to return to school by DOH or MCOPH. The entire quarantine period must be completed; a negative test obtained prior to the end of the quarantine does not clear the student for return to school. If a previously asymptomatic child develops any of the Symptoms for Surveillance, they should contact their health care provider. They may not return to school until they meet the above criteria.

Healthy, vaccinated individuals are better protected from contracting and/or becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. La Salle College High School joins the DOH and MCOPH in urging all students, staff, faculty, and their families to ensure that their routine vaccinations are up to date and to get an annual flu shot.