COVID-19 Updates & Resources

Health starts at home. The wellbeing of our school community, and our ability to continue safely with in-person learning, is dependent upon the support of every student, parent and faculty member. A collective commitment to daily at-home screenings is our first line of defense to staying well.

If ANY of the below symptoms or circumstances apply, stay home and contact the school nurse:

• Temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher
• loss of taste or smell
• new or worsening cough
• shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• vomiting or diarrhea
• you've been in close contact with someone positive with COVID-19
• you've been asked to self-isolate or quarantine
• you are waiting on a COVID-19 test result or have received a positive test
• someone in your household is symptomatic and testing for COVID-19

If you have TWO or more of the following symptoms, stay home:

• chills
• headache
• muscle or body aches
• fatigue
• sore throat
• congestion or runny nose
• nausea

*based on updated guidance from the CDC and SCDHEC as of Jan. 15, 2022.

• Individuals who test positive for COVID-19
  • must isolate for at least 5 days after the first day of symptoms (or after the positive test date, if asymptomatic)
  • can return to school on day 6 IF it has been at least 24 hours since the person had a fever (without using fever reducing medicine) AND other symptoms of COVID-19 are significantly improving
  • must wear a face covering through day 10 unless eating or drinking or more than six feet from anyone else when outdoors
  • do not need to provide documentation of a negative test to return to school
• Vaccinated individuals (or individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 90 days) exposed to someone positive with COVID-19
  • do NOT need to quarantine if they are maximally** (18 years and older) or fully* (5-17 years old) vaccinated and do not have symptoms 
    • **a maximally vaccinated person has completed their primary vaccine series and has had a booster shot, if eligible
    • * a fully vaccinated person has completed their primary vaccine series (two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one dose of Janssen vaccine) with at least two weeks since their last dose
  • testing is recommended but not required at day 5
  • must wear a face covering through day 10 unless eating or drinking or more than six feet from anyone else when outdoors
  • See our exposure decision tree for additional information.
• Unvaccinated individuals exposed to someone positive with COVID-19
  • must quarantine for at 5 days from last date of exposure
  • can return to school on day 6, if no symptoms develop
  • must wear a face covering through day 10 unless eating or drinking or more than six feet from anyone else when outdoors
  • do not need to provide documentation of a negative test to return to school
  • See our exposure decision tree for additional information.
• Preschool protocols: Updated CDC guidance includes directives about when face coverings are required upon return to school following a quarantine period. Because face coverings are not required for preschool and many of our youngest students are not able to effectively wear face coverings for the time frame required, the following protocols will be used in order to meet the developmental needs of our youngest students while also managing transmission:
  • For quarantines due to exposures, if asymptomatic, a preschooler may return seven days after the last exposure with a negative test on day five or later. If parents choose not to test, preschoolers must remain home for 10 days and return if asymptomatic. 
  • If a student tests positive, the preschooler can return to school after 10 days at home, 24 hours fever free without fever-reducing medicine and an overall improvement in symptoms.