COVID Policy Pivot: Elk Grove Unified Revises Process For Notifying Families Of Positive Tests

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ELK GROVE (CBS13) — The Elk Grove Unified School District connected Tuesday announced it volition present email parents astir affirmative COVID-19 cases alternatively of making idiosyncratic telephone calls.

There’s besides caller criteria nether the revised notification process allowing exposed students to stay successful people and spell untested successful immoderate circumstances.

This argumentation is effectual immediately, but wherefore now? The territory said it’s a fig of things: the surge successful omicron cases, staffing shortages and updated guidance from nationalist wellness officials.

It’s a COVID-19 argumentation pivot from the district, which notified parents successful a letter.

Children exposed but are afloat vaccinated and asymptomatic whitethorn enactment successful schoolhouse and volition not request to beryllium tested.

For students who are unvaccinated and asymptomatic, they tin enactment successful school, too, but are required to beryllium tested connected time five.

Those who are symptomatic volition beryllium sent location to isolate, but isolation tin present extremity aft 5 days if they don’t person symptoms.

When we pushed the territory for answers connected the changes, they sent america a connection saying:

“We are updating our information protocols to conscionable existent COVID-19 conditions…we are intimately monitoring staffing levels and person processes successful spot to either summation oregon alteration schoolhouse activities arsenic needed nether pandemic conditions.”

The shift comes arsenic the Sacramento City Unified School District reports a deluge of sick calls.

“Last Friday, determination were 586 unit absences, which is astir a 21% absentee rate,” said Jorge Aguilar, the superintendent of SCUSD. “Given the shortage of substitutes, we were capable to screen conscionable astir fractional of those absences with substitute teachers.”

The superintendent says, implicit the past week, much than 1,500 students and unit tested affirmative for COVID-19.

Some parents interest adjacent elemental schoolhouse activities similar lunchtime are putting kids astatine risk.

“It’s truthful rampant, it could’ve travel from anywhere,” said Melvin Buford, a acrophobic parent.

We took those concerns to the district.

“We bash our champion astir lunchtime,” said Victoria Flores, manager of pupil enactment and wellness services with SCUSD. “We cognize that is simply a clip erstwhile students would person masks off.”

Other districts are getting originative to support in-person learning. In Palo Alto, nearly 700 genitor volunteers are moving arsenic cleaning crews and schoolroom aides this week.

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Officials from different section districts accidental they person not changed COVID-19 protocols, but that volition apt alteration successful the coming days.