Adjustments to COVID Testing, Home Quarantine

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Important Note: On Friday, Sept. 24 at 4:30 p.m., 菠菜网lol正规平台 leadership will host a video roundtable discussion to provide more context on the information below, and to address some of the pressing questions we have received from parents and various members of the community. Tune in to 837147.com/youtube to watch any time after 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24.

Dear Long Beach Unified Community,

For most of us, Monday, Sept. 27 will mark the start of our fifth week of school. With your help, we’ve been able to successfully reopen our campuses to in-person learning for the fall semester. Last week, we communicated that we would be taking a pause on asymptomatic screening for students as we deeply analyzed our data. We wanted to ensure that 菠菜网lol正规平台 was balancing our top priorities of student safety and academic excellence by taking the most effective safety precautions that also keep the most students learning in-person. As we continue to monitor the latest pandemic data and guidance from local and state health agencies, we will be making a few adjustments to our health and safety protocols, including revisions to our asymptomatic COVID testing of students and our home quarantine procedures.

Randomized Asymptomatic COVID-19 Testing of Students

During the first three weeks of school, we tested as many unvaccinated students as possible. We have administered more than 60,000 tests, resulting in a low positivity rate of well under 1%. In fact, our weekly positivity rate decreased each week for the first three weeks of school. Again, this is a testament to the diligence of students, families and school staff in following health and safety measures. 

Starting next week, we will implement weekly testing of 10% of each school’s unvaccinated student population. As with our prior testing, we will use the same painless, self-administered nasal swab procedure that students have been using since we reopened in March. The District will generate randomized lists of these students on a weekly basis using an automated, unbiased system. The strategy of testing a representative sample will allow us to gather reliable data while minimizing the burden of testing among students and schools. This approach to testing fits within the national Centers for Disease Control’s guidance for COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools.  

Modified Home Quarantine

Modified quarantine is a way to allow students who have potentially been exposed to COVID-19 to attend in-person learning. Scientific research and experience from around the nation demonstrate that when both parties are wearing face masks during the time of a potential school-based exposure to COVID-19, in-school transmission is unlikely, and students can safely continue in-person learning as long as certain precautions are taken. 

During modified quarantine, students will need to refrain from extracurricular activities, including sports, and activities within the community setting. Testing during modified quarantine provides an additional layer of safety and monitoring. 

What happens when a child is considered potentially exposed or considered to be a close contact? 

Children who are fully vaccinated may continue to attend school in-person while watching for symptoms for 14 days. If a child is not fully vaccinated, and both the exposed child and the infected person were wearing masks in a supervised school setting, the exposed child can still attend school in-person if they:

• Remain symptom free 
• Continue to wear a mask 
• Get tested twice within a week; once right after the parent receives exposure notification, and again three days later
• Do not participate in extracurricular or community activities, such as sports, until their modified quarantine ends

Modified quarantine, when needed, along with randomized, asymptomatic testing of students are just two of many continuing health and safety measures, including vaccinations for those eligible, masking, optimized ventilation, home screening for symptoms, hand hygiene and distancing to the extent possible.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to continue safely offering in-person learning, which we all know is so important to our students’ development and growth.

With deep appreciation,

Jill

Jill A. Baker, Ed. D.
Superintendent of Schools