Administrators in the Upper Perkiomen School District, based on recent guidance received from the Montgomery County Office of Public Health,  have reduced by half the required isolation and quarantine time frames for individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or are deemed close contacts to positive individuals.

            Late last month, officials announced that the district would be following a five-day exclusion period.

            Students who test positive for the novel coronavirus, and those who are deemed a close contact, will be permitted to return to school after five days as long as they have no symptoms, or had no symptoms, or their symptoms resolve after five days, according to the information delivered Dec. 29. 

           Students and staff will continue to wear masks in school as part of the district's Health and Safety Plan.

            The revisions, issued by the county health department, are based on information recently released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This new guidance will help the district meets its goal of keeping students learning in person as much as possible, according to the statement.

            Close contact is defined as an individual who is within six feet of a positive individual for 15 minutes or more, or a household contact of a positive individual.

            The statement identifies one exception to the six-foot rule in the K-12 indoor classroom setting or a structured outdoor setting where proper mask use can be observed.

           The new exclusion criteria splits the close contact designation into two categories.

           The first group includes those who have received a third injection of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or have completed the primary series of either within the last six months.

           Additionally, those who have completed the primary series of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine within the last two months are included in this group. Those in this group deemed a close contact are required to wear a mask around other people for 10 days and get tested on Day 5, if possible

            The second group includes those who have completed the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines more than six months ago and have not received a booster, anyone who completed the primary series of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two months ago and has not been boosted, and those who remain unvaccinated. Those in this group deemed a close contact will be required to stay home for five days, wear a mask around people for five additional days, and test on Day 5, if possible.