MCPS Health Updates

MCPS Covid 19- Information Portal Website

More information here:

Medical Officer’s Back to School Message - Summer 2023- COVID-19 procedures

Dear MCPS Community:

As we wrap up the summer and get ready to return to school, here are some health reminders and COVID-19 information.

Healthy habits and prevention are the best ways to stay healthy and prevent spread of infections! This school year we will continue to see COVID and other common contagious illnesses, such as strep, flu, or stomach viruses. Good health habits include:

Getting enough sleep and maintaining a good sleep routine
Good nutrition and physical activity
Washing your hands before and after eating or using the restroom
Covering your mouth when coughing and sneezing
Staying home when sick
Keeping up to date with recommended immunizations

For more information about healthy habits, see the web resources below.

COVID-19: What has changed this year?

Vaccinations: COVID-19 vaccination is strongly recommended for students, staff members, and MCPS volunteers. We will no longer have weekly school-based COVID-19 vaccine clinics. We will keep our community informed of how to access vaccines and changes in COVID-19 vaccination recommendations.
Case Reporting: Students and staff members no longer need to report COVID-19 results online. They should notify their school or supervisor if they have a positive COVID-19 test and will be absent.
Case Notification: Schools will no longer notify families about single case exposures to COVID-19 in a shared classroom. Staff and students will still be notified about exposures to multiple cases in a possible outbreak situation.

COVID-19: What has NOT changed?

Isolation Period: The CDC continues to recommend a minimum 5-day home isolation period for individuals with a new COVID-19 infection. Students and staff members can return to school as early as day 6, if they are feeling better, and can safely mask until day 10.
Masking: Masks are optional with some exceptions. They are still required per CDC recommendations for individuals recovering from a COVID-19 infection returning after day 5, and may be recommended or required in outbreak situations. Individuals can choose to wear a mask for health reasons at any time and masks will continue to be available for school use to staff and students.
Testing: Home test kits will continue to be available at school. Testing may be recommended or required in certain situations, such as before overnight trips. Depending on local trends, MCPS may distribute home test kits before long holidays. At this time, testing is not required before returning from a long break. We encourage staff and families to assess their risk level and test if they have symptoms or may have been exposed to COVID-19.
Outbreaks: We will continue to monitor for local outbreaks in COVID-19 and other infectious illnesses and implement temporary strategies to reduce disease transmission.

Nation-wide, we have seen modest increases this summer in new COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions, and increased levels of COVID-19 in wastewater surveillance. Current rates of risk indicators are still in the low range, and most people do not experience severe disease from having a COVID-19 infection. However, it is still important to understand your risk and take precautions against COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, especially for those more vulnerable to severe infection.

So far, new variants since January 2022 have been closely related to Omicron and have not caused the same high degree of transmission or severe disease. If a new variant acts very differently and does not respond to immunity from vaccines or past infection, to current treatments, or causes more severe disease, public health recommendations may change. MCPS continues to work closely with our county health partners to monitor the evolving landscape of COVID-19 and other contagious infections, to protect the health of our staff and students, and ensure continued access to in-person learning.

Wishing you a safe and healthy school year! Thank you for your shared investment in the health of our school community.

-Dr. Kapunan

ONLINE RESOURCES

Healthy Habits

National Sleep Foundation: Back to School Sleep Tips

U.S. Department of Agriculture: Back to School with MyPlate

HealthyChildren.org: Germ Prevention Strategies

COVID-19 Resources

MCPS COVID-19 Information Portal and Fall 2023 Reopening Guide

Montgomery County COVID-19 Information Portal and Data Dashboard

Maryland Department of Health (MDH) COVID-19 webpage and July 2023 Guidance Regarding COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Illnesses in K-12 Schools and Child Care

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):