MCPS will now send kids home for ten days based on symptoms only

[Anonymous]

The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe Headache, diarrhea or vomiting. Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms. This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.

I didn't have the time to read the whole thread, so hopefully someone already said this. No one has any business sending to school a kid with one of these symptoms, even in normal times. These are symptoms of an actually sick kid. Everyone here is complaining about the quarantine and testing, but in reality, you should be complaining about people sending their sick kids to school, who will get other kids sick. Keep them home! Then there isn't a need for quarantine.

[Anonymous]

None of this would be necessary if they would simply use the testing that is freely available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here, and it's just a matter of time before some sixth grade kid decides to be funny and impress his or her friends and get them all out of class by claiming they have a "sore throat" or, even better, "diarrhea." Anyway, this policy is designed to make sure schools have the staffing to teach quarantined kids without having to ask multiple teachers to work on Zoom with those kids during their planning periods. I smell an ulterior motive. Not cool. These kids need to be in school.

If you want kids at school, you need to curb your behavior at home to help stop the spread. 6th graders are generally not vaccinated and its very easy to spread it. But, keep denying covid and have a huge school outbreak that impacts others schools, families and our community. Great plans.

WTF do you mean by that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the new “guidance” confirms what we’ve been hearing. If a child has “symptoms” associated with COVID (could be a runny nose) their close contacts (this has been interpreted as the entire class in many schools) are quarantined for ten days.

This is completely ludicrous and not based in science or CDC guidelines.

It’s not “symptoms,” it’s symptom! One symptom!

“ This is particularly important as if your child has any of the following single symptoms they will be sent home and not be able to return to school until they have a negative test, alternate diagnosis, or complete a full 10-day quarantine. During that period of time, all other students who have been in their close contact will have to be in a temporary quarantine while the other families wait on the outcome of that testing for your child. This could be potentially disruptive to your children and families moving in and out of quarantine and to avoid it takes all of us working together. It is a collective responsibility that we exercise extreme caution and be conservative in our approach.

The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe Headache, diarrhea or vomiting. Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms. This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.”

What choice do they have, though? I'm in favor of in-person and my kids went back in spring. But what else can they do?

It also doesn't say runny nose, at least, because then no one would be in school from Nov.-March.

What else can they do? They can not quarantine entire classrooms of masked kids based on one sniffle. They could follow the CDC guidelines for a start!

This. NONE of the BOE board members are remotely qualified to be making these decisions. Just follow the CDC. Is this a departing gift from Gayles? Or has someone else taken up his mantle? The county health department has been so anti-kid this entire time.

But you are qualified to know whether your kid has COVID without a test? I hope Gayles’s replacement is even more conservative. It’s needed for this self-centered population.

No I'm not qualified, so I trust in an institution that actually is. I never said not to test, this goes beyond testing and you know it. If anything this is going to have such a chilling effect because no one is going to want to get their kid's class shut down unnecessarily.

In which case they shouldn’t send their sick kids to school and instead test them. Simple as that.

[Anonymous]

There is an easy solution, get your kid tested. Our pediatrician's office does them in house and generally the PCR results are back within a few hours. Unfortunately, we have had to do this with our daughter several times. She is in daycare. It is important to me not to send her back into a daycare setting with Covid. I also work in an office and I've gotten tested several times when I've come down with a cold. I don't want to spread Covid unnecessarily.

It should be equally important to everyone not to send your kid to school with Covid. If additional testing needs to happen to be cautious, so be it.

Skirting the rules, avoiding testing and ignoring symptoms is why were are still in this pandemic. Not to mention the idiots who won't get vaccinated. It is maddening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe Headache, diarrhea or vomiting. Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms. This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.

I didn't have the time to read the whole thread, so hopefully someone already said this. No one has any business sending to school a kid with one of these symptoms, even in normal times. These are symptoms of an actually sick kid. Everyone here is complaining about the quarantine and testing, but in reality, you should be complaining about people sending their sick kids to school, who will get other kids sick. Keep them home! Then there isn't a need for quarantine.

100%!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the new “guidance” confirms what we’ve been hearing. If a child has “symptoms” associated with COVID (could be a runny nose) their close contacts (this has been interpreted as the entire class in many schools) are quarantined for ten days.

This is completely ludicrous and not based in science or CDC guidelines.

It’s not “symptoms,” it’s symptom! One symptom!

“ This is particularly important as if your child has any of the following single symptoms they will be sent home and not be able to return to school until they have a negative test, alternate diagnosis, or complete a full 10-day quarantine. During that period of time, all other students who have been in their close contact will have to be in a temporary quarantine while the other families wait on the outcome of that testing for your child. This could be potentially disruptive to your children and families moving in and out of quarantine and to avoid it takes all of us working together. It is a collective responsibility that we exercise extreme caution and be conservative in our approach.

The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe Headache, diarrhea or vomiting. Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms. This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.”

RIDICULOUS!!!! Why do we have such an utterly incompetent school board who are dead set on keeping our children out of school.

BECAUSE PAREMTS DON"T VOTE AND THE PEOPLE THAT DO VOTE LOVE THE APPLE BALLOT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the new “guidance” confirms what we’ve been hearing. If a child has “symptoms” associated with COVID (could be a runny nose) their close contacts (this has been interpreted as the entire class in many schools) are quarantined for ten days.

This is completely ludicrous and not based in science or CDC guidelines.

It’s not “symptoms,” it’s symptom! One symptom!

“ This is particularly important as if your child has any of the following single symptoms they will be sent home and not be able to return to school until they have a negative test, alternate diagnosis, or complete a full 10-day quarantine. During that period of time, all other students who have been in their close contact will have to be in a temporary quarantine while the other families wait on the outcome of that testing for your child. This could be potentially disruptive to your children and families moving in and out of quarantine and to avoid it takes all of us working together. It is a collective responsibility that we exercise extreme caution and be conservative in our approach.

The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe Headache, diarrhea or vomiting. Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms. This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.”

What choice do they have, though? I'm in favor of in-person and my kids went back in spring. But what else can they do?

It also doesn't say runny nose, at least, because then no one would be in school from Nov.-March.

What else can they do? They can not quarantine entire classrooms of masked kids based on one sniffle. They could follow the CDC guidelines for a start!

This. NONE of the BOE board members are remotely qualified to be making these decisions. Just follow the CDC. Is this a departing gift from Gayles? Or has someone else taken up his mantle? The county health department has been so anti-kid this entire time.

But you are qualified to know whether your kid has COVID without a test? I hope Gayles’s replacement is even more conservative. It’s needed for this self-centered population.

No I'm not qualified, so I trust in an institution that actually is. I never said not to test, this goes beyond testing and you know it. If anything this is going to have such a chilling effect because no one is going to want to get their kid's class shut down unnecessarily.

In which case they shouldn’t send their sick kids to school and instead test them. Simple as that.

No it's not that simple because they need to stay home 10 days regardless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe Headache, diarrhea or vomiting. Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms. This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.

I didn't have the time to read the whole thread, so hopefully someone already said this. No one has any business sending to school a kid with one of these symptoms, even in normal times. These are symptoms of an actually sick kid. Everyone here is complaining about the quarantine and testing, but in reality, you should be complaining about people sending their sick kids to school, who will get other kids sick. Keep them home! Then there isn't a need for quarantine.

100%!!!

This is idiocy if you don't qualify it for common conditions, chronic conditions or severity. If you really think we should keep a kid home for any cough, headache, etc., please go live in a bubble. If you don't send a kid to school with "one" or "any" of those symptoms, a significant % of school is absent each day and lacks any continuity with extremely harmful learning consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the new “guidance” confirms what we’ve been hearing. If a child has “symptoms” associated with COVID (could be a runny nose) their close contacts (this has been interpreted as the entire class in many schools) are quarantined for ten days.

This is completely ludicrous and not based in science or CDC guidelines.

It’s not “symptoms,” it’s symptom! One symptom!

“ This is particularly important as if your child has any of the following single symptoms they will be sent home and not be able to return to school until they have a negative test, alternate diagnosis, or complete a full 10-day quarantine. During that period of time, all other students who have been in their close contact will have to be in a temporary quarantine while the other families wait on the outcome of that testing for your child. This could be potentially disruptive to your children and families moving in and out of quarantine and to avoid it takes all of us working together. It is a collective responsibility that we exercise extreme caution and be conservative in our approach.

The single symptoms that the health room staff screen for and will result in quarantine are cough, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell, fever ≥100.4°, sore throat, severe Headache, diarrhea or vomiting. Please do not send your children to school with any of these symptoms. This is essential for us to continue to remain in school without quarantine.”

What choice do they have, though? I'm in favor of in-person and my kids went back in spring. But what else can they do?

It also doesn't say runny nose, at least, because then no one would be in school from Nov.-March.

What else can they do? They can not quarantine entire classrooms of masked kids based on one sniffle. They could follow the CDC guidelines for a start!

This. NONE of the BOE board members are remotely qualified to be making these decisions. Just follow the CDC. Is this a departing gift from Gayles? Or has someone else taken up his mantle? The county health department has been so anti-kid this entire time.

But you are qualified to know whether your kid has COVID without a test? I hope Gayles’s replacement is even more conservative. It’s needed for this self-centered population.

No I'm not qualified, so I trust in an institution that actually is. I never said not to test, this goes beyond testing and you know it. If anything this is going to have such a chilling effect because no one is going to want to get their kid's class shut down unnecessarily.

In which case they shouldn’t send their sick kids to school and instead test them. Simple as that.

No it's not that simple because they need to stay home 10 days regardless.

Not if the test is negative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of this would be necessary if they would simply use the testing that is freely available.

Right? Way to go down a rabbit hole of horror rather than just, you know, use the millions of dollars on testing rather than Leader in Me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an easy solution, get your kid tested. Our pediatrician's office does them in house and generally the PCR results are back within a few hours. Unfortunately, we have had to do this with our daughter several times. She is in daycare. It is important to me not to send her back into a daycare setting with Covid. I also work in an office and I've gotten tested several times when I've come down with a cold. I don't want to spread Covid unnecessarily.

It should be equally important to everyone not to send your kid to school with Covid. If additional testing needs to happen to be cautious, so be it.

Skirting the rules, avoiding testing and ignoring symptoms is why were are still in this pandemic. Not to mention the idiots who won't get vaccinated. It is maddening.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

I think what is going to happen here is that parents will not be truthful about why their kid is staying home from school, particularly if they can't afford the extra $$ for the quick PCR test. I know vomiting CAN be a Covid symptom, but there a whole lot of other things it could be from instead. But now you're going to send a class home for potentially several days while awaiting results? Our insurance covers the cost of the same day PCR but we have a lot of lower income families at our school. This is going to affect lower income schools the most because they won't be able to test quick enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My oldest kid used to occasionally get motion sick on the bus. He doesn't ride the bus anymore, but this means that anytime you do get a bus puker it would not only send the kids on the bus but their entire class home to quarantine?

Yes. One more reason not to ride the bus.

Really the whole bus should be included in the quarantine if the whole class is...just saying..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of this would be necessary if they would simply use the testing that is freely available.

How so? Wouldn't any positive test still send the class home?