On Monday night, Elizabeth Battin got a notice that her son’s pre-k classroom at a PS 87 in Manhattan would be closed for 10 days because of exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Battin was surprised: Officials said recent changes to the city’s closure policies were designed to reduce the number of classroom quarantines, and those changes had just gone into effect that very day. “We were all confused that the whole classroom was shutting down coming off of last week’s announcement,” she said.
As it turns out, the pre-k students had been exposed to a teacher who tested positive, prompting their class and several others to close. Hundreds of students have now had to quarantine.
According to several parents, the teacher was vaccinated with a breakthrough case and mildly symptomatic. The education department did not confirm this.
Now Battin has questions. She wants to know why — under the new policy — her child has to quarantine after being exposed to a masked, likely vaccinated adult for half an hour, but not necessarily if the child shared a classroom with a positive student for much longer. She is confused why her second grader who was not exposed to the teacher but was certainly exposed to her son in pre-k did not have to quarantine as well.
An education department spokesperson said the policy follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommending that students exposed to a COVID-positive adult for more than 15 minutes and less than six feet apart should quarantine, even if they are wearing masks. (The spokesperson later clarified that those exposed for more than 10 minutes would be quarantined, and that this standard is based on last year’s guidance from the state’s department of health.) Officials said they have made it clear that they are following those guidelines. But Battin said many parents do not know or understand the new policies. “Why couldn’t they give a little more clarification?” she asked.
To that end, here are questions about the new quarantine protocols submitted by parents to WNYC/Gothamist, and some answers based on responses from the city’s education department.
Who is considered a close contact in a school setting?
In indoor settings, classmates who had their masks off for more than 10 minutes within three feet of a student who tests positive are considered close contacts. Students who spend more than 10 minutes within six feet of an adult who tests positive are also considered close contacts, whether they are masked or unmasked.
How do the rules affect vaccinated and unvaccinated close contacts differently?
Asymptomatic vaccinated students and adults do not need to quarantine. Asymptomatic unvaccinated students and adults are directed to quarantine for ten days.
Will parents be notified if a child or teacher in their kid’s class tests positive, even if he or she is not considered a close contact?
All students and employees get a notification of a positive case in the school, and those who are close contacts will be told so. But not everyone in a class will be told about a positive case in their class, if they are not deemed close contacts.
Who will determine which children were exposed and are a "close contact?" Is this the classroom teacher's responsibility?
The city’s test and trace team will work with administrators to identify close contacts.
If a student is considered a close contact to someone who tests positive, do their siblings have to stay home too?
Only the students who are identified as close contacts to a positive case need to stay home; siblings do not have to stay home if they were not exposed to the positive case at school.
When students are determined to be "close contacts" and sent home to quarantine for 10 days, who will teach them?
Students in all grades who are home will get assignments from their teacher and can sign up for “office hours.” In cases where an entire class of younger, unvaccinated kids is quarantined, the teacher will instruct the whole class virtually.
At what point can close contacts test back into the classroom?
They can get tested on Day 5, and if the results are negative, they can return on day 8. If not tested, they can return on day 11.
Many students are eating lunch together in their classrooms. Are all classmates considered "close contacts" because they will be unmasked during mealtimes?
Yes. All unvaccinated students who are eating together in classrooms will be considered close contacts. If children under 12 who are not eligible to be vaccinated yet are eating lunch in their classrooms and there is a positive case, the entire classroom will quarantine for 10 days.
What happens if there’s a case in a crowded cafeteria?
The Situation Room, the hub that coordinates between the health and education departments to respond to cases, will work with school leaders to determine who was within 6 feet of the person who tested positive for more than 10 minutes. School leaders have been directed to seat students in their cohorts to help keep track of close contacts, but it is possible that larger groups of students will have to quarantine when there is a positive case in the cafeteria.
What if a student tests positive on a rapid test but then negative on subsequent tests? Can the class come out of quarantine?
The city’s Department of Health will review the test results and consult with the family to determine any other risk factors like proximity to a confirmed positive case. Then, they will decide whether to reverse or lift the quarantine.
Why not test pre-k and kindergarten kids? How can the city help prevent transmission in those classrooms without testing?
The education department says: “Following advice of medical experts, there are challenges in specimen collection that compromises the reliability of results at this age. If a young person is symptomatic or a close contact, they should still be tested, but for our survey testing we want to make sure results are reliable.”
Send us your questions and comments about the new school year, quarantine rules, and more to [email protected].
Also, take a look at our data about cases, closures, and classroom ventilation at NYC public schools here: Coronavirus Stats, Back to School Edition: Tracking Outbreaks In NYC Education.
This article was updated on Thursday, September 30th at 4:50 p.m. to include updated information from the city's Department of Education about the amount of time it takes for an exposure to an infected person to trigger a quarantine. It is more than 10 minutes, not 15.
