In a news release Tuesday, December 8, the Office of Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Lake Charles has announced that Catholic schools will adhere to recently updated Centers for Disease Control guidelines, according to Kimberlee Gazzolo, Superintendent.
The new guidance impacts close contacts and goes into effect immediately.
If an individual is a close contact of an individual infected with COVID-19:
• Quarantine can end after Day 10 post-exposure without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring.
• Quarantine can end after Day 7 post-exposure if an individual tests negative following a molecular/PCR or antigen test and no symptoms were reported during daily monitoring. A molecular/PCR test may be taken on Day 5 or 48 hours before the time of planned quarantine discontinuation, but quarantine cannot be discontinued any earlier than Day 7.
• In both cases, continued symptom monitoring and masking through Day 14 MUST continue. If any symptoms develop prior to Day 14, the individual should immediately self-isolate and contact their healthcare provider and supervising principal to report their change in status.
Superintendent Gazzolo said, "We will continue working with the Louisiana Department of Health and our health partners to update guidance when it becomes available."
Source Material: CDC - Options to Reduce Quarantine for Contacts of Persons with COVID-19<https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief-options-to-reduce-quarantine.html?preview> - Updated December 2, 2020
