The COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Maine schools were released on December 30, and this is good news for OHSD educators and parents. Because Rowe and other district schools are enforcing mask mandates we hope there will be many fewer students quarantining, and when students do quarantine, it will be for five days, not ten. We are reviewing expectations for mask wearing with all students. A helpful summary of the new SOP is available by clicking Maine DOE Media Release, December 30, 2021.
Also, the guidance around pooled testing has changed. Students and staff participating in pooled testing who are close contacts, regardless of the location of contact, will no longer be required to be out of school. Students with a positive test, of course, will still need to isolate for at least five days until symptoms have resolved.
For parents and community members interested in details, here’s a link to the updated SOP. This is a lengthy and complex document. It's the guide our health professionals use to make decisions about testing and quarantining. There are still a few gray areas that are being worked out by the Maine DOE, but the big picture is that many burdensome requirements have been loosened.
Parents, please remember to screen your children daily, keep children with COVID-19 symptoms home, and call the school to report symptoms and ask any questions.