The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has issued updated quarantine guidance for students in schools. Guidance differs for students depending on vaccine status, mask wearing, or whether or not they are showing symptoms.
Students who are showing symptoms after exposure to COVID-19 must be tested and isolate themselves from family members and other students. This pertains to both vaccinated and unvaccinated students who are showing symptoms.
Under the new guidance issued by MDHHS, students who have been exposed to COVID-19 and are not showing symptoms of illness, a.k.a. asymptomatic individuals, do not have to quarantine and can remain in school while monitoring symptoms if the following is true:
- They are fully vaccinated
- They are unvaccinated but were wearing a mask and were physically distanced (3-6 ft. apart) from the COVID-19 positive student who was also wearing a mask
It gets a little more complicated for unvaccinated students who wore masks and were less than 3 feet apart from a masked, COVID-19 positive student. In that case, the student has the option of staying in school and being tested every day, staying home for 7 days and returning with a negative test, or simply staying home for 10 days.
If students are unvaccinated or the COVID-19 positive student was unmasked, the exposed student has to stay home for 7 days and can only return to school with a negative test. If they are not tested, they can return after 10 days.
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
