COVID-19 INFO

If your child is experiencing symptoms and/or not feeling well please follow these steps:

• • Complete your Safety App Prescreening for today
  • If you answer “Yes” to any of the Safety App questions and receive a red “Stay Home” message, please contact Nurse Hill as soon as possible to determine if your child should come to school.  
  • If experiencing COVID-like symptoms, give your child an at-home rapid test and share the results with Nurse Hill.
  • If you are unsure of what to do, please reach out to Nurse Hill as soon as possible. 

If your child is staying home from school, email Nurse Hill, your child’s teacher and Mrs. Giordano as soon as possible.

We are following the latest Philadelphia Department of Public Health Recommendations for Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Persons. 

For unvaccinated with no symptoms:

• 10 days after exposed without testing OR
•  After 7 days if negative PCR/antigen test which was collected after day 5
• The most protective recommended quarantine is still 14 days post exposure

For fully vaccinated** with no symptoms:

• Get tested 3-5 days after exposure
• Remain out of school until test results are submitted to Nurse Hill
• Monitor for symptoms for 14 days

**Fully vaccinated means it has been 2 weeks after the final dose of a one- or two-dose vaccine

Symptoms present regardless of vaccination status

Isolate and schedule a PCR test 3 – 5 days post exposure.

While awaiting test results, continue to isolate at home while wearing masks for all members of the household regardless of vaccination status.

If the results are negative, submit your results to Nurse Hill. Return to school the day after submitting your test results.

If the results are positive, submit your results to Nurse Hill, stay home for 10 days post exposure.  Nurse Hill will help you work through the timeline to return to school.

• Parents/guardians, students, and staff are required to the Safety App or Safety App Link to conduct a daily prescreen at home each school day before reporting to school or work. 
• If you answer yes to any of the screening questions, please contact Nurse Hill 
• for further instructions. 

If any of the following are true, the parent/guardian must keep the student at home and contact Nurse Hill:

• Fever of 100.4 °F or greater, new onset of cough, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath unrelated to a pre-existing condition.  
• Any of the following symptoms: sore throat, congestion, runny nose, chills, headache, muscle pain, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea. 
• Come into close contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19

Parents should contact their child’s teacher and the appropriate division head to determine the plan for instruction as needed. 

PDPH Return to School Flowchart (Updated September 2021)

Quarantine and Isolation Calculations (Updated September 2021)

If a child or staff member has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 (after staff member/student dismissal)

• Consistent with school notification requirements for other communicable diseases, and consistent with legal confidentiality requirements, St. Peter’s School will notify all teachers, staff, and families of all students in a school if a lab-confirmed COVID-19 case is identified among students or staff. 
• Close off areas that are heavily used by the individual with the lab-confirmed case (student, teacher, or other staff) until the non-porous surfaces in those areas can be disinfected, unless more than 3 days have already passed since that person was in the building.  
• All children and staff in the same classroom or who have come in close contact with the affected person (defined as greater than 15 minutes of interaction less than 6 feet away over a 24-hour period) should quarantine at home and monitor for symptoms. 
• Anyone who develops symptoms during that time should contact their health care provider.
• All quarantined students are required to get a PCR test before returning to school once the quarantine period is lifted. A rapid antigen test will not be accepted. 
• The School Nurse will contact the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, including confidentiality requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). See Contract Tracing below for more information. 
• Decisions about classroom or school quarantines will be based on the  overall community and school-level spread. St. Peter’s School will seek to preserve on-site instruction for as many students as possible. In circumstances of low circulating cases within the community, classroom-contained exposures may not warrant large dismissals.

Immediately separate any student who shows COVID-19 symptoms while at school until the student can be picked up by a parent or guardian

Students who report feeling feverish should be given an immediate temperature check and rapid antigen COVID test to determine if they are symptomatic for COVID-19

• If respiratory symptoms are identified: student will be escorted to the designated isolation area in the Health Room.
• • • Student is given a mask if not wearing one 
    • Parent/Caregiver is contacted for immediate pick up
    • Parent/Caregiver MUST pickup within 2 hours of phone call 
    • Isolation area is closed and will not reopen for rest of the school day per CDC guidelines 
    • Wait 24-hours before cleaning per CDC guidelines

• If gastrointestinal symptoms are identified: student will be isolated to the area closest to the private restroom in the Health Room.
  • • Student’s mask will not be worn if student is vomiting
    • Parent/Caregiver is contacted for immediate pick up
    • Parent/Caregiver MUST pickup within 2 hours of phone call
    • Restroom is closed and will not reopen for rest of the school day per CDC guidelines 
    • Wait 24-hours before cleaning per CDC guidelines

https://www.phila.gov/programs/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/guidance/guidance-documents/

Contact tracing is a key strategy used by health departments to prevent the further spread of infectious diseases. It involves identifying people who have the virus, determining who they have been in contact with, and notifying the contacts for further recommendations concerning potential quarantining to interrupt disease transmission. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is implementing a contact tracing program to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Philadelphia. When notified of a staff member or student with a confirmed case of COVID-19, St. Peter’s School will coordinate with PDPH on COVID-19 reporting and response efforts.