Students and Families:
As I am sure you are aware, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has released new guidelines for schools to follow as we move into a new phase of managing the pandemic. The new guidance includes both required elements that the district will follow and suggested mitigation measures that we should all personally consider. This new guidance begins at midnight tonight and will be in effect for weekend activities at the schools and for school starting on Monday.
Here are the required elements that you should be aware of:
- The mask mandate has been lifted, so we will not be requiring students, staff, or guests to wear masks on our buses or on our campuses. With that said, masks are still encouraged by the DOH and the CDC, so anyone who wishes to remain masked may absolutely do so. We ask everyone to respect the rights of others to make personal choices in this area. If you wish for your child to remain masked, you may absolutely do so; however, the school cannot monitor this for you.
- People with COVID symptoms must stay home and away from others and get tested. This has not changed.
- People who are positive for COVID can return to school or work after 5 days when the following conditions are met: Symptoms are declining AND the person is fever free without fever reducing medications for at least 24 hours, AND at day 5 or later, the person receives a negative COVID test (rapid antigen tests will show negative results at this point while PCR tests remain positive for a longer period following illness) OR the person commits to wearing a KN95 or N95 mask until at least day 10. People who choose to not mask and not take a test need to remain out the full 10 days. The new symptom flow chart has also been released.
- Much of the contact tracing requirement has been removed from the guidance, and we have been asked to focus on broader notification. Our website will have a dashboard, starting on Monday at https://www.ocean.k12.wa.us/page/covid-dashboard, that will list the positive cases for the day and where they are. If there is need for more detailed notification, you may receive an email or a phone call with more information.
- We are required to continue to offer testing. We offer testing which can be accessed by contacting our school nurse, Michelle Kemmer, at 360-642-3731 ext. 112 or email her at michelle.kemmer@oceanbeachschools.org.
Please know that in addition to the required elements above, we will still be taking mitigation measures such as frequent hand-washing and staying home when sick. While no longer required to enforce physical distancing or masking, both are still encouraged.
Thank you for continuing to work with us during this challenging time.
Amy Huntley