A five-day isolation period after testing positive for COVID-19 is no longer required, even for school-aged children. Instead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends returning to normal activities once symptoms have improved overall for at least 24 hours and fever, if present, has subsided without the use of fever-reducing medication.
The CDC recommends that people continue to take extra precautions for the next five days after returning to their normal activities, such as washing their hands more frequently and covering their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
In March, the CDC simplified its safety guidelines for COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory viruses, a change that comes as coronaviruses are no longer the public health threat they once were.
“We still need to use commonsense solutions that we know work to protect ourselves and others from severe illness from respiratory viruses, including vaccination, treatment and staying home when we're sick,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a statement at the time the update was made.
Massachusetts Guidelines
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said COVID guidelines for schools and the general public are currently the same.
If your child shows any symptoms of respiratory illness, they should be tested for COVID-19 and influenza. If they test positive, health officials recommend staying home to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to others. Washing hands frequently with soap and warm water or using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol also helps to reduce the spread of infection.
The same recommendation applies to children and anyone who is asymptomatic but tests positive, and although it is not required, staying at home for about 72 hours can also help prevent spreading the virus to others.
Changes to existing school guidelines
Boston Public Schools said it is working with the Boston Public Health Commission to revise its existing COVID protocols but had no updates available as of press time.
“We are following CDC guidelines and will be announcing new ones in the coming days,” BPS spokesman Max Baker said.
Cambridge Public Schools announced it is lifting most of the testing requirements that were mandated for the past school year. The district will no longer send students and staff home test kits to be used before school starts or if they experience COVID-like symptoms throughout the year. Similarly, it will no longer provide students with test kits to be used the morning before returning to school after Thanksgiving, winter break, February or April break.
CPS nurses will continue to test students who report COVID symptoms, mask wearing will remain optional, and students will not be required to be fully vaccinated.
“Our collaborative efforts to mitigate the spread of infection have allowed Cambridge Public Schools to suspend targeted at-home testing following the break,” David Murphy, interim superintendent of Cambridge Public Schools, said in a statement. The decision was made in collaboration with the Cambridge Health Alliance.
“We continue to emphasize preventative measures such as hand washing and are ready to quickly adapt if the situation changes,” Murphy said. “Finally, we will continue to communicate regularly to ensure our community remains vigilant against the continued spread of the virus.”
There are no new rules at Chelsea since last year.
“Nothing has really changed in that regard,” Chelsea Public Schools spokesman Michael Sullivan said. “We are following our current procedures. Nothing has changed from last school year.”
If your child needs to stay home
Jennifer Fiore, a primary care pediatrician at Boston Medical Center, said it's best for children, teachers and peers to stay home if they're sick, and that even if they're worried about missing class or important learning, they should feel supported in doing so.
“Health is always a top priority,” she said in an email. “Good communication with teachers is important to ensure they make a full recovery and keep up with their schoolwork.”
Fiore also said vaccination is key to best health practices, and as important as infection prevention is, it's “normal and expected” for young children to get sick from time to time.
“I often advise families that children starting daycare for the first time could potentially get up to 10 different illnesses over the course of the year,” Fiore says, “and this is part of the normal process of building a healthy immune system.”
Where to get a COVID test
The Boston Public Health Commission plans to resume distributing COVID test kits and personal protective equipment in October, spokesman Andrew Lemos said in an email. More details are expected to be available in the coming weeks, he said.
In Cambridge, you can get a free at-home COVID-19 test at Cambridge Public Health, located at 119 Windsor St.
Contact Natalie La Roche-Pietri at [email protected]. Follow her Natara Roche.
