March 8, 2021
Dear PiM Students, Parents, and Community,
We are excited to have some students coming back to the building, as a school just isn’t a school without students, and we understand how hard the last year has been for families at home. The only way we can keep students in the building is to follow a few rules to keep our staff and students safe.
First, we request parents not be in the building without a prior appointment with a staff member, this way we can ensure social distancing in the front office or throughout the building. Also we need you to monitor your students for illness, and if they are sick they must stay home. Some symptoms to look for are:
- Fever
- Chills
- Shortness of breath or difficult breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- Loss of sense of taste or smell
- Sore Throat
- Congestion or Runny Nose
- Nausea or Vomiting
- Diarrhea
If your child has even one of these symptoms, please keep them home and consider getting them tested for COVID-19. If you as a parent has any of these symptoms, please reach out to the school to determine if it is safe for your child to come to school while you are sick. We do understand how difficult it is to have a child home sick for an extended period of time due to COVID-19, but if we don’t do this then there is no way we can safely have children in the building during this time.
Also this year we are updating our Over The Counter Medication Administration to reflect a law change from a couple of years ago. So this means if your student needs over the counter meds during the day, you will need to bring in what they need and fill out the Medication Administration Form requiring both a health care provider, and parent signature. We know this is more work, but we are just trying to protect all students. Prescription medications will be treated the same way, requiring both the parent and physician to sign the form. You can bring in your doctor’s medication form or get one from the school to be filled out.
Please reach out to the school with any questions, or you can reach out to me directly as I am the Licensed School Nurse working with the entire student population this year.
In Health,
Tara Meyer, RN, BSN, PHN, Licensed School Nurse
tara@navigatecare.com
(612) 202-8802
COVID Monitoring
Travel Recommendations
Travel comes with a risk of contracting and/or spreading COVID-19. Now, there are increased concerns about travel as cases of the more-transmissible COVID variant are appearing in more states, including our own. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. If you must travel, we urge you to follow guidelines from MDH and the CDC.
Monitoring at Home
Please use this chart to help determine if your student should come to school or stay at home for illness. If your child has even one of these symptoms, please keep them home and consider getting them tested for COVID-19. If you as a parent has any of these symptoms, please reach out to the school to determine if it is safe for your child to come to school while you are sick. We do understand how difficult it is to have a child home sick for an extended period of time due to COVID-19, but if we don’t do this then there is no way we can safely have children in the building during this time.
Monitoring at School
Staff will monitor students for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and encourage self-monitoring throughout the school day. Students and staff who develop signs or symptoms of COVID-19 during the day will be moved to a designated space for assessment. This space will be separate from the health office space, where well-student care is delivered and will accommodate distancing of at least six feet. This space will be cleaned between uses. Staff members who become ill at school will be advised to go home immediately.
Students and staff with any of the following symptoms will be sent home:
- Fever (100.40 or greater)
- New or worsening cough
- Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Vomiting, diarrhea, or nausea
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Excessive fatigue
- New onset of severe headache
- New onset of nasal congestion or runny nose
Exclusion Criteria
PiM will follow the Minnesota Department of Health’s Decision Tree for People with COVID-19 Symptoms to determine when a student, staff member, or household member must stay home and when they may return to school. It is important to know the two types of symptoms:
- More Common: fever greater than/equal to 100.4F; new onset and/or worsening cough; difficulty breathing; new loss of taste or smell
- Less Common: sore throat; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea; chills; muscle pain; excessive fatigue; new onset of severe headache; new onset of nasal congestion or runny nose
Students/staff members with NO symptoms but a positive COVID-19 test are required to stay home for at least 10 days from the date of the positive test.
Students/staff members are required to quarantine (stay home while healthy) for 14 days from the date of last contact with someone who tests positive for COVID, unless they have been fully vaccinated.
Students/staff members with only ONE of the following symptoms (and who do not develop a second symptom) are required to stay home until the symptom resolves and are encouraged to talk to their health care provider about testing for COVID-19:
- Excessive fatigue
- New onset of severe headache
- New onset of nasal congestion or runny nose
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Sore throat
- Gastrointestinal symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, or nausea)
Potential Exposures
The Minnesota Department of Health recommends COVID-19 testing for all people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and for asymptomatic people who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19.
In the event of a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 in a student or staff member, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will work with PiM to conduct a case investigation to determine whether any exposures may have occurred in the school setting. PiM will assist MDH in determining when the person first developed symptoms, what date they were tested, and when they last attended school.
MDH considers the infectious period to begin 48 hours prior to symptoms developing in a symptomatic individual or on the test date for an asymptomatic individual. In order to evaluate the case and determine next steps, the MDH case investigation team will consider several details, such as how long the person was on-site while potentially infectious, who the person came in contact with, and the level of interaction the person had with others.
PiM will notify all identified close contacts of their exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19 while maintaining confidentiality in accordance with state and federal law.
Quarantine of Close Contacts
PiM will follow Minnesota Department of Health guidelines for determining when exposed students and staff members may return to school.
- Close Contacts with no further contact with the infected person and who do not develop symptoms themselves may return after 14 days.
- Close Contacts who have continued exposure to the infected person do not begin their 14 day quarantine until the infected person is no longer contagious (10 or more days). These Close Contacts may return after a minimum of 24 days (10 days or more of illness + 14 days of quarantine) if no symptoms develop in the close contact.
- If a Close Contact develops symptoms, they begin the 10+ period of isolation.
