Planning To Reopen - Our Schools, DESE Protocol, A Student Is Symptomatic On The Bus

8/26/2020 (Permalink)

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has worked closely with Governor Baker's administration, public health officials, and community leaders to develop guidelines to follow should a specific COVID-19 scenario arise in a school district. As parents face the difficult decision about if and how their child will return to school this fall we believe it is critical for parents to understand the totality of any potential risks that exists and know in advance what the contingency plans are. The Massachusetts DESE has issued guidance for schools, districts, and individualized education program teams that identifies potential scenarios along with case specific protocols for responding to each specific COVID-19 scenarios.

NOTE: COVID-19 is highly transmissible. Individuals should follow these universal precautions regardless of the extent of mitigation needed:

1. Follow healthy hygiene practices
2. Stay at home when sick
3. Practice social distancing 
4. Use a cloth face covering (with some exceptions) in community settings when physical distancing cannot be maintained.

The current state of the COVID-19 pandemic is continually evolving. What is true today may not be tomorrow. At this time, the evidence suggests schools have not played a significant role in COVID-19 transmission and that children, particularly younger children, are less likely than adults to be infected with COVID-19.

As always, work with your local health officials to determine a set of strategies appropriate for your community’s situation.

(See our Planning to Reopen series of blogs for more information regarding CDC, EPA, FDA, Mass EEA, Mass DESE, and OSHA safety requirements). To review the administration's reopening guidance from the state click here. To view Governor Baker's full report click here).

Protocol: Student Is Symptomatic On The Bus

According to the Massachusetts DESE the following protocols should be inplace and executed upon should a student become symptomatic while on the bus.

Although families are the most important first line of defense for monitoring symptoms, bus drivers and bus monitors also play an important role in flagging possible symptomatic students. Note: This will require training for bus drivers (and bus monitors, if applicable).

1. If symptoms are noticed as the student is getting on the bus and if there is a caregiver present, do not allow student to board the bus. The caregiver should then Follow: “Protocol: Student is symptomatic at home.”
2. If student is already on the bus, ensure student is masked and the student keeps mask on covering nose and mouth at all times. If the student does not have a mask, the bus driver should be equipped to provide one. 
3. Ensure other students keep their masks on covering their nose and mouth at all times. Ensure student keeps required physical distance from other students.
4. If not already open, windows should be opened as fully as possible, weather permitting.
5. Bus driver/monitor should call ahead to the bus service dispatch. The bus service dispatch should be equipped with appropriate cell phone numbers for school and district personnel (nurse or other medical personnel). The dispatch should contact the school to inform the school nurse (or school medical point of contact) ofa possible symptomatic child.
6. School nurse (or school medical point of contact) should meet the bus as it arrives, wearing a mask. As practical, student with possible symptoms should exit the bus first.
7. Bus should be cleaned / disinfected.
8. Nurse (or school medical point of contact) should evaluate the student for symptoms (see list above: CDC list of common symptoms of COVID-19).
   1. If the student displays any of the common symptoms of COVID-19 the nurse should place the student in the designated medical waiting room. This space must be supervised.  If feasible schools are encouraged to provide individual students with their own waiting room. If more than one student is in the same waiting room at a time, each student must be at least 6 feet apart (and should be spaced as far apart as possible) and wearing a surgical mask (non-N95 and non-cloth) while in the medical waiting room. If a student does not already have a surgical mask, the school should provide one. Schools must also be equipped with the PPE for the staff involved with supervision of the waiting room. Strict mask wearing covering the nose and mouth at all times for every person in the room must be enforced. Students can work on individual schoolwork or other activities while in the medical waiting room.
      1. Contact caregiver for pick-up.
         1. If the caregiver CAN PICK UP the student during the day:
            • Student waits to be picked up in the medical waiting room. Caregivers must wear a mask/face covering when picking up their student. Students should not ride the school bus to get home. Caregivers and students should wash their hands upon arriving at home and change their clothes, as a precaution.
         2. If the caregiver CAN NOT PICK UP the student during the day:
            1. The student should wait in the medical waiting room until the end of the day to be picked up by caregiver. The student should not go home on a school bus with other students.
      2. Current Massachusetts DPH guidance is that all symptomatic individuals in Massachusetts, even those with mild symptoms, should be tested. An individual who does not wish to be tested may return to school ten (10) days from start of symptoms, as long as their symptoms have improved and they have been without fever for at least 24 hours prior to their return to school without the use of fever reducing medications.
      3. Student should get tested at one of Massachusetts’s test sites. Sites may require pre-screening, a referral, and/or an appointment.
      4. Isolate at home until test results are returned.
      5. Proceed as follows according to test results:
         1. IF NEGATIVE:Students may return to school after they have tested negative for COVID-19, have improvement in symptoms, and have been without fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications. If a provider makes an alternative diagnosis for the COVID-19-like symptoms, the individual may return to school based on the recommendations for that alternative diagnosis (e.g., influenza or strep pharyngitis).
         2. IF POSITIVE:Student should remain at home (except to get medical care), monitor their symptoms, notify the school, notify personal close contacts, assist the school in contact tracing efforts, and answer the call from local board of health or Massachusetts Community Tracing Collaborative. Most people who have relatively mild illness will need to stay in self-isolation for at least 10 days and until at least 3 days have passed with no fever and improvement in other symptoms.FOLLOW: “Protocol: Student/staff tests positive for COVID-19.”
   2. If the student DOES NOT display any of the common symptoms of COVID-19 the nurse should:
      • Send the student to class

NOTE: According to Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education areas of the school visited by the COVID-19 positive individual must be closed off and/or cleaned and disinfected. The area can be used 12 hours after cleaning/disinfecting has occurred.

While the administration continues to work with communities to implement best practices and protocols for reopening our schools we will continue to share with you guidance from the CDC, EPA, FDA, Mass EEA, Mass EEC, Mass DESE, and OSHA and the Governor's office to follow as we prepare for the new school year.

Also, we at SERVPRO of Newton/Wellesley know that not every community has access to the resources necessary to meet the strict cleaning guidelines to ensure a safe environment for our children. For those communities, we are here to help!

Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned

The Disaster Remediation Teams at SERVPRO of Newton/Wellesley are specialists in cleaning services and we adhere to the highest cleaning and sanitation standards. We are prepared to clean and disinfect your schools, according to protocols set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We have years of experience in dealing with biological contaminants, and we will go beyond the scope of work of "normal daily cleaning". Call SERVPRO of Newton/Wellesley today for a free consultation - (617) 332-9000.

All of us here at SERVPRO of Newton/Wellesley want you and your loved ones to stay safe and know that we will make it through this together! Rest assured, we will continue to do our best to keep you up-to-date and informed!