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COVID-19 Testing Support for K-12 Schools |
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This bulletin is being sent to school district administrators, private school administration representatives, and tribal school contacts. Local health officers and tribal health directors are courtesy copied for awareness.
Schools/districts should begin planning for a potential COVID-19 outbreak
Public health officials expect that COVID-19 cases will increase – along with other respiratory viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and rhino/enterovirus, all of which have very similar symptoms to COVID-19.
It’s important for schools and other facilities to have a plan to address outbreaks of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.
What is a COVID-19 outbreak?
A suspected outbreak of COVID-19 in a school and ECE facility is defined as at least three confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 who meet the criteria for a facility-associated case, with onset dates or positive test results within 14 days of each other AND no likely known epidemiologic link to a case outside of the school setting.
A confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 is defined as three or more confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 identified in the facility who meet the criteria for a facility-associated case, with onset dates or positive test results within 14 days of each other, who were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting (i.e., household), AND are epidemiologically linked in the facility setting or a school setting-sanctioned extracurricular activity.
For K-12 schools, a "facility-associated case" is a student, teacher, or staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 and was physically present in the school setting or participated in a school-sanctioned extracurricular activity within 14 days prior to illness onset or a positive test result OR within 10 days after illness onset or a positive test result
Steps to take after an outbreak
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Both suspected and confirmed outbreaks of COVID-19 in all schools must be reported to the local or tribal health department by law as soon as they are recognized.
- Test symptomatic people, and close contacts of those who have tested positive for COVID-19
- Encourage those who are not feeling well to stay home until symptoms subside
- Consider use of at-home tests as part of your outbreak testing plan
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Consider enrolling in the K-12 COVID-19 Testing Program in advance of any outbreaks.
For schools offering testing through the 2022-2023 DHS K-12 COVID-19 Testing Program:
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If additional testing hours are needed, the school’s representative should email the K-12 COVID-19 Testing inbox at dhsK12COVIDTesting@dhs.wisconsin.gov and copy their vendor contacts.
- Provide the number of students to be tested and if vendor can support additional hours
- DHS will determine hours that can be allocated
- Testing support may be limited due to limited resources
- Send a follow up email to K-12 COVID-19 Testing once outbreak testing has completed and regular testing schedule has resumed
Reach out to us
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