by Bryan Kim ‘23

MCPS and many other public school systems have struggled to quickly update  policies regarding potential symptoms and positive Covid-19 cases among students and staff as the Delta variant upended planning done months ago.  On September 16, MCPS announced a reformed plan that includes a new rapid testing initiative and quarantine protocol. Under the new initiative, in-school rapid testing will be conducted in all schools throughout Montgomery County. 

The previous MCPS protocol required all unvaccinated students and staff, which includes K-6 students currently ineligible to receive the vaccine, to quarantine for a minimum of 10 days when exposed to someone infected with Covid-19. Those who were infected were also required to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, even if they didn’t exhibit symptoms. Under the current and previous policy, those who are fully vaccinated are not required to quarantine unless they develop possible symptoms or test positive for Covid-19. Furthermore, all MCPS staff are required to provide proof of vaccination by October 29. 

A major issue with the former close contact strategy was once one student started to show possible symptoms of Covid-19, those in direct contact with the symptomatic student were required to quarantine at home while they awaited test results. According to MCPS’s Covid-19 FAQ for Principals and Supervisors document, direct contact is defined as being within six feet of an infected person for fifteen minutes or more during a 24-hour time frame. This was one of the main factors that contributed to more than 1,700 students in MCPS being sent home to quarantine after the first week of school. 

Under the new quarantine policy, symptomatic students that test negative on the rapid test are required to take a more accurate PCR test. Close-contact students are only required to quarantine if the original rapid test or the second PCR test is positive. Students in close contact with a symptomatic student no longer need to quarantine while awaiting test results.

However, the system requires consent to testing from a student’s parents or guardians. As of September 13, less than a third of MCPS students from Pre-K through sixth grade have consented and are eligible to receive in-school testing. The county has developed an advocacy program called “Say Yes to the Test,” which aims to reach 100 percent consent from parents to allow all MCPS students to consent to testing. Full student eligibility will optimize the new initiative, and prevent unnecessary quarantining.