COVID-19 hub

COVID-19 information and updates
Posted on 08/30/2021
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COVID-19 safety precautions remain a priority in our daily happenings.

General information

Custodians and maintenance staff will place emphasis on sanitization of school buildings, adhering to cleaning guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Masks

As of Jan. 31, 2022, masks are optional for all students in preschool to 12th grade.  

Masks are still required on school busses, per the CDC.

Elyria Schools works closely with health officials at Lorain County Public Health, who have diligently kept the county's school districts apprised of all emerging developments and any changing guidelines pertaining to COVID safety.

Feeling ill?

Students and staff should not come to school if they are showing ANY signs of illness, such as headache or fever, cough, sneezing, shortness of breath, stomachache, etc.

This cannot be overemphasized: Please do not come to school if you are feeling ill.

The CDC provides excellent guidance on symptoms of illness and symptoms of COVID-19.

Hygiene

We emphasize good hand hygiene as one of the leading defenses against the transmission of COVID 19.

Health officials continue touting the benefits of "layering" prevention strategies to slow the spread of illness.

COVID-19 and its variants are not the only illnesses impacting children and families.

The Ohio Department of Health recommends vaccinating children against vaccine-preventable diseases. The CDC provides resources for parents in tracking vaccination schedules for children under the age of 18.

More information

In December 2021, the CDC released new quarantine guidelines that permit individuals with COVID-19 and no symptoms to return to school or work after five days of isolation (from day after symptom onset or test date). Upon return, individuals are still required to wear a mask for an additional five days after their return.

Asymptomatic (without symptoms) students or staff who are "close contacts" of a positive case may remain in school regardless of vaccination status.

Lorain County Public Health created a document to help illustrate the new CDC guidance. More information is available on the Lorain County Public Health website, including details on vaccination clinics. 

The CDC also suspended the practice of contact tracing because it has not demonstrated a decrease in cases. 

Elyria Schools will continue to report known positive cases to the Ohio Department of Health, through the stage agency PCG, on a weekly basis.

Elyria Schools employs five full-time nurses and several health aides that are integrally involved in the overall health and wellness work of the district, and certainly with COVID-19 protocols.

Please monitor your family's health and wellness at home and do not attend school if any symptoms of illness are present.

ODH COVID-19 dashboard

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has posted a state-wide dashboard to provide public access to Ohio's most recent data reported to ODH about COVID-19 cases.

The site is searchable by county and includes a tab for schools.

The link can be accessed here.

Resources

COVID-19 Guidance by LCPH

Guidance K-12 schools by CDC

COVID-19 vaccine by LCPH

Quarantine Guidance by CDC

Isolation Guidance by CDC

Contact Flowchart by ODH

Now What? by LCPH (in Spanish)

Mythbusting by LCPH