COVID update from the Head of School

I hope all had a good Thanksgiving and our week of distance learning continues to go well. 
 
We have received the results from our most recent round of COVID testing.  We tested 610 faculty/staff and students on Wednesday and the results show 7 positives.  Each of these positives were asymptomatic and they will quarantine for 14 days from the day of the test. ​

Of the seven, three positives were faculty/staff and two of those three also had spouses that work at North Cross.  All will work from home and spouses are also treated as positives. 
 
Four students tested positive, three lower schoolers and one in the upper school.  They, along with seven siblings, will attend school virtually.
 
I have also been getting a number of inquiries concerning the new CDC Guidelines for COVID related quarantining.  It is important to realize that the science behind CDC guidelines has not changed.  The guidelines have only been adjusted to reflect the lower probability of passing on the virus after the tenth day.  It is still possible to pass on the disease after ten days of quarantine just not as likely as in the first ten days.  
 
Because we can easily add in two weekends to our quarantine requirements, we will continue our more conservative policy of 14-day isolation, 24 hours symptom free, and no test required for return to school after a positive test result.  We will also continue to quarantine for five days then re-test individuals deemed in close contact with a positive.  Again, because of weekends and the timing of our testing, this policy is essentially a seven-day policy which is consistent with CDC guidelines.
 
We will return to on-campus learning for the next two weeks prior to our Winter Break.  Following Winter Break, we will once again have a single week of virtual learning during which we will have our next round of testing.
 
Thank you all for your care and many thanks to the volunteers who spent a cool and windy day testing everyone.