UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2022
Please see the attached documents from the New York State Department of Health containing updated quarantine and isolation guidance along with updated Test to Stay guidance:
Quarantine and Isolation Guidance
Updated TTS Memo
Quarantine and Isolation Tables


JANUARY 18, 2022
Byram Hills is adjusting its plans based on January 4, 10, 11, 13, and 15th NYSDOH and WCDOH communications.  

Contact Tracing
NYSDOH and WCDOH indicate that schools do not need to contact trace, but may send a general letter to classes of potential exposures. Byram Hills will continue to contact trace and notify only those students/staff who are deemed as close contacts (although most of our schools have lunch seating at over 6 feet, preventing quarantining - and classrooms at 3 feet to prevent quarantining).  

Test to Stay (TTS)

• For faculty, staff and students who are asymptomatic and unvaccinated who claim that they have been close contacts (except for exposures in the home which do not qualify for TTS).  Individuals requesting TTS or required to do TTS to stay in school may speak to the nurse or the assistant principal and be added to the nurse’s document of who to test at least 2x in a 5 day period.
  The nurse will:
  - Determine number of times student/staff to be tested within the 5 day period (minimum of 2 times within 5 day period from date of last exposure)
  - Document dates and results of test on TTS spreadsheet 

Symptomatic Staff/Faculty

• Nurses may provide self-administered rapid antigen test to staff/faculty if they report symptoms (to be done in nurse’s office).

Isolation/Quarantine
Students, teachers, and staff who test positive for COVID-19 and never develop symptoms should isolate for at least 5 days. Day 0 is the day of the positive viral test (based on the date of testing) and day 1 is the first full day after the specimen was collected for the positive test.

• If they continue to have no symptoms, they can end isolation after at least 5 days.
• They should continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public until day 10 (day 6 through day 10). If they are unable to wear a mask when around others, they should continue to isolate for 10 days.
• If they develop symptoms after testing positive, the 5-day isolation period should start over. Day 0 is the first day of symptoms. Follow the recommendations above for ending isolation for people who had COVID-19 and had symptoms.
   

People who have COVID-19 and have or had symptoms should isolate for at least 5 days. To calculate the 5-day isolation period, day 0 is the first day of symptoms. Day 1 is the first full day after their symptoms developed.

• They can end isolation after 5 full days if they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and other symptoms have improved (loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation).
• They should continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public for 5 additional days (day 6 through day 10) after the end of their 5-day isolation period. If they are unable to wear a mask when around others, they should continue to isolate for 10 days.
• If they continue to have fever or other symptoms have not improved after 5 days of isolation, they should wait to end isolation until they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and their other symptoms have improved. They should continue to wear a well-fitting mask and contact their healthcare provider with questions.
   

Students, teachers and staff who are not vaccinated or have not completed a primary vaccine series who came into close contact with someone with COVID-19 should quarantine for at least 5 days (Day 0 through Day 5) after their last close contact unless the individual does Test-to-Stay and tests every morning (required for staff) with the nurse before attending school. Note that unvaccinated individuals who reside with a COVID positive person must quarantine for 5 days (with day 0 as the last date of contact with the isolated family member).  If unable to isolate from the COVID positive family member, the quarantine for the unvaccinated individual begins AFTER the 5 day quarantine ends for the COVID positive individual.