I am SO glad to be back at school, seeing all those smiling eyes above colorful masks. COVID has certainly changed how we do things, but at our core, we still TEACH students! Students must be healthy to be educated and educated to be healthy.
"Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." -Nelson Mandela
Prior to sending students to school please complete the following checklist:
Maine DOE prescreening checklist
If students have ONE of the more common symptoms or TWO of the less common symptoms, they should stay home and be evaluated by their PCP. Please contact your school nurse for next steps.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include:
More common symptoms include: Cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever of 100.4 or higher, chills, sore throat, or new loss or taste or smell
Less common symptoms include: Muscle or joint pain, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, congestion or a runny nose
What do I do if my student is sick?
Confirmed COVID-19
Students with a COVID-19 diagnosis.
Stay home at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared AND until no fever for at least 24 hours without medication AND improvement of other symptoms.
Siblings and household members also stay home for 14 days.
Non-COVID-19 Illness
Students with other diagnoses (e.g., Norovirus, strep throat) that explains symptoms, or when
a health care provider says symptoms are connected to a pre-existing condition.
Stay home until symptoms have improved AND until no fever for at least 24 hours without medication. Follow specific return guidance from the health care provider.
Siblings and household members do not need to stay home.
Suspected COVID-19
Students with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 without a medical evaluation (e.g., monitoring symptoms at home).
Stay home at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared AND until no fever for
at least 24 hours without medication AND improvement of other symptoms.
Siblings and household members do not need to stay home unless they have a positive test or have symptoms.
For the safety of all students and staff after experiencing symptoms that exclude a child from school, please provide a return to school note or negative test result to the school from your students doctor.
Traveling outside of Maine right now is discouraged due to risk of COVID-19. Traveling to destinations not included on the exemption list require a 14 day quarantine or a negative PCR or Antigen test when returning to Maine, If traveling cannot be avoided please see the Maine CDC travel page or the FAQ Keep Maine Healthy webpage for more information. At the time this page was authored, exempt destinations for travel include, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont. For additional information on travel and testing regarding travel please see Maine CDC COVID -19 FAQ page, which is updated regularly and was updated last on 11/5/2020.
Testing: Obtaining a test can be difficult and not all tests are created equal. The PCR test is the gold standard for COVID-19 testing. HERE is a list of local testing sites with requirements for testing and how to make appointments (if needed) There are 30 testing sites within 40 miles of Yarmouth. :-)
Quarantine vs Isolation Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease such as COVID-19 from people who are not sick. Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. At any point during this pandemic you or your family may need to isolate or quarantine. It is a very good idea to have enough medication and food on hand to last at least two weeks.
One of my children is sick, and another one is healthy, can I send the healthy one to school? YES! Unless your sick family member tests positive for COVID-19 and it is recommended by the CDC that they quarantine for 14 days, a healthy student can attend school.
For any questions, please contact the school nurse at alison_thomson@yarmouthschools.org or 846-3391 or visit the Maine CDC COVID website
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