County metrics
We update case counts Tuesdays, vaccine data Wednesdays and outbreak data Thursdays.
Key message
If you’ve been exposed, take care to stay away from others, especially those who may be at higher risk. If you’re sick with mild symptoms, stay home. Everyone's health situation is different. Talk to your doctor. Not everyone needs to get tested. The pandemic has negatively affected our students’ mental health and well-being, and we remain committed to keeping our schools open and safe.
- Transmission among school-aged kids is not driving our COVID cases now; young adults are.
- Local data suggest that classrooms transmissions are at the same levels at community transmissions.
Visit our COVID-19 data page for the latest updates. You can look up cases by census tract, see daily case counts on Washington State Department of Health’s dashboard, and learn the latest on outbreaks.
What the Health Department is working on.
We met with our private school partners on Monday, Jan. 10.
We will meet with public-school superintendents on Thursday, Jan. 13.
Updated guidance.
DOH updated K-12 Requirements for 2021-2022 on Jan. 7:
Isolation
- Students and staff who test positive can return to school after 5 full days since developing symptoms or they tested positive (if no symptoms develop). They must:
- Be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications and have an improvement in symptoms.
- Wear a well-fitting mask around others through day 10.
- They don’t need a negative test to return, but if they complete a test, we recommend an antigen test on day 5.
- If still positive, they must continue to isolate until day 10.
Quarantine
- Students or staff who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 should quarantine for at least 5 full days after their last close contact if they:
- Are 18 or older and completed the primary series of vaccine but haven’t received a recommended booster shot when eligible.
- Received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine (completing the primary series) more than 2 months ago and haven’t received a recommended booster shot.
- Aren’t vaccinated or have not completed a primary vaccine series.
- They don’t need to quarantine if they:
- Are 18 or older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people.
- Are 5-17 years old and completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines.
- Had confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days.
- If students or staff need to quarantine, they have 3 options:
- Test to Stay (if the school offers this program). You must test twice in the 5 days after exposure, wear a well-fitting mask around others through day 10 and monitor for symptoms.
- Quarantine at home for 5 days and test no sooner than day 5. You must provide documentation of a negative test to the school. You must wear a well-fitting mask around others through day 10 and monitor for symptoms.
- Quarantine at home for 10 days with no test. In certain circumstances, you may need a 14-day quarantine.
Previous updates made on Dec. 17 require testing 3 times per week for high-risk sports (basketball, wrestling, water polo and indoor cheer), regardless of vaccination status.
DOH updated Supplemental Considerations to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission in K-12 Schools on Jan. 7:
- Schools must notify the State Board of Education when they change to modalities other than in-person instruction because of a qualifying emergency pursuant to WAC 180-16-195, -200 and -212.
- DOH prioritized school settings to help with contact tracing demands. Refer to the table on page 11.
- Test to Stay:
- Staff are now eligible to participate.
- If you were exposed outside of school and need to quarantine, you can follow Test to Stay protocol.
- Students may continue to attend class. They can also participate in extracurricular activities and attend childcare or youth development programs provided before and after school.
- You must still quarantine from social gatherings and community activities.
- You should be tested twice within 5 days after exposure.
We are updating our website and resources to reflect these new changes. DOH will updated additional school-related documents (Symptom Decision Trees for Schools and Contact Tracing Guide and FAQ for K-12 Schools) soon.
Testing resources.
Please encourage parents and families to use local testing sites or their school for testing resources rather then going to Emergency Rooms. Hospitals are running at high capacity and should be reserved for emergencies only. If your families need more testing than your school can provide, share our test site flyer with them.
If you are using CareStart rapid antigen tests, refer to this Additional Shelf-Life Extension for CareStart tests. Shelf life was extended to 16 months.
DOH also recently released an Approval to Use Expired Reagent Antigen Test Kits.
Vaccine updates.
Everyone 12 years and older should get a booster shot. Pfizer is the only vaccine approved for people 12-17 years old. CDC changed the recommended interval for booster doses. Moderna and Pfizer boosters should now be given 5 months after the second dose.
Pediatric vaccine clinics.
Want to help families find pediatric vaccines? Share these upcoming clinics with them. Find other vaccine clinics at tpchd.org/vaxtothefuture.
Sumner United Methodist Church
Jan. 15, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
901 Wood Ave, Sumner, WA 98390
Registration link: https://form.jotform.com/213227020872144
Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Jan. 15, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.
1115 S 56th St., Tacoma, WA 98408
Registration link: https://form.jotform.com/213485442388160
St. Anne Parish
Jan. 17, 3-7 p.m.
7025 S Park Ave., Tacoma, WA 98404
Registration link: https://form.jotform.com/213147246926155
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Jan. 18, 12-6 p.m.
4301 Browns Point Blvd NE, Tacoma, WA 98422
Registration link: https://form.jotform.com/213435664786163
People's Center
Jan. 21, 3-7 p.m.
1602 MLK Jr. Way, Tacoma, WA 98405
Registration link: https://form.jotform.com/213146201191139
Lorene's Place II
Jan. 22, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
11150 Gravelly Lake Dr. SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
Registration link: https://form.jotform.com/213356072664153
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