• Student/Staff Health Procedures 

    • Staff will participate/receive COVID-19 safety training/materials.
    • Nursing staff will wash hands and disinfect health room surfaces (cot, counters, chair, etc.) in between each student seen (only students who require daily medications or have scrapes and bumps will be seen in the nurse's office). 
    • Each school will designate a separate precautionary room (separate from nurses’ office for students/staff with COVID-19 symptoms). 
    • Students who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms will be checked by the nurse and will be kept in the precautionary room until parents pick them up (this room will be disinfected after each student has been seen). 
    • The nurse will advise the parent/guardian to contact the student's doctor to discuss signs/symptoms and risk factors. 
    • PPE equipment (face shields/goggles, face masks, gloves) will be provided to health services staff to use in the precautionary room. 
    • Students and staff will follow CDC guidelines after travel. 
    • Staff and students are expected to check their temperature prior to arriving at school each day. Staff and students are directed to stay home if they have any of the following symptoms 
      • Fever of 100.4 or higher 
      • Any new cough 
      • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing 
      • Muscle or body aches 
      • Headache 
      • New loss of taste or smell 
      • Sore throat 
      • New congestion or runny nose 
      • Nausea or vomiting 
      • Diarrhea 
      • Close contact with a person with COVID-19 in the last 14 days 

     

    Action Plan for Positive Case 

    • It is the responsibility of the parent to contact the school if their student tests positive for COVID-19. Parents should call their student's school nurse. If outside of school hours, a COVID-19 contact button will be placed on the district website for this purpose. 
    • The Cass County Health Department will conduct the contact tracing (including communication) for positive COVID-19 cases. 
      • When it comes to case investigations, the Health Department receives the notification of a reportable disease (in this case, COVID-19) with the patient's name and contact information. The person who has tested positive will then be contacted by phone by Health Department staff and interviewed about their medical history, their current symptoms, and any significant contacts they had going back to 2 days prior to symptom onset. (or 2 days prior to testing, if asymptomatic). The CDC and the State of Missouri define a contact as anyone who has spent 15 continuous minutes or more within 6 feet of a positive case. Once the health department gathers information about known contacts of the positive case, they will reach out to those individuals to inform them of their exposure and direct them to quarantine for the 14 days after their exposure. 

     

    Exclusion for Illness Guidelines
    (This could change based on current CDC guidance) 

    Students and staff will be excluded from school if they test positive for COVID-19 or exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 based on CDC guidance that is not otherwise explained.  

     

    High and low risk symptoms of COVID-19 that would require exclusion from school:

    High Risk:

    • New Cough
    • Difficulty breathing
    • New Loss of taste/smell

     

    Low Risk: 

    • Fever (100.4 F or greater)
    • New Congestion/Runny Nose
    • Nausea/Vomiting
    • Diarrhea
    • Sore Throat
    • Headache
    • Muscle Pain

     

    The school nurse is encouraged to use professional medical judgment and to evaluate the entire clinical picture when making assessments. For example, a temperature of 100.4 with body aches likely indicates an acute illness and should be treated as such. Conversely, a student with a history of asthma and a temporary cough after PE that resolves with a student’s inhaler use would not necessarily be assessed as having “severe cough or shortness of breath.” 

     

    Return to School from Illness Guidelines 
    (This could change based on current CDC guidance)

    If a student has one low-risk symptom (see above), they cannot attend school that day, and they may not return until 24 hrs after the symptom is resolved (e.g. if they had a fever, they would have to be fever free for 24 hrs without fever reducing medication before they could return to school).

    If a student has 2 or more low risk symptoms OR one high risk symptom (see above), they are sent home and advised to consult their health care provider for further evaluation of symptoms and risk factors. 

    If tested for COVID and results are negative or the doctor determines that there is likely an alternative diagnosis through lab testing and evaluation (e.g. positive test for strep throat), the student may return to school after being free of fever for 24 hrs (without fever reducing medication) and symptoms are improving (e.g. has been on antibiotics for strep throat for 24 hrs and symptoms have improved). Precautions and exclusions for other contagious conditions according to the CDC manual for Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases will continue to be enforced. 

    If the student’s COVID test result is positive, the student may return to school when the following three criteria are met: completing 10 days isolation order and 24 hrs fever free without fever reducing medication, and symptoms improving.

    UNTESTED Persons who have not received a test proving or disproving the presence of COVID-19 and experience at least 2 low risk symptoms OR one high risk symptom may return when the same three conditions are met for a positive COVID test (see above).

    COVID-19 tests are free to our community at the Cass County Health Dept.(816) 380-8425 by appointment only and once per week at both Cass Regional Medical Center (816) 380-3474 and Belton Hospital (816) 348-1200. Call directly for dates and times.


    Risk Evaluation and Expectations of COVID-19 Exposure

    • Close contact is defined as having prolonged exposure (being within 6 feet for 15 or more minutes) to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, however, other factors will be considered (e.g. symptoms of the person with COVID-19 at the time of exposure and type of interaction or activities during close contact), so the final determination of close contact is up to the discretion of the local health department based on the findings of the investigation and contact tracing conducted in collaboration with the school. 

    • If a student or staff was in close contact with a person that tested positive for COVID-19, they will self-quarantine for 14 days from the last date of exposure to the person. They will self-monitor for symptoms, if symptoms develop, obtain a COVID-19 test and follow CDC guidelines  

    • If a student or staff had prolonged and repeated exposure with someone while they had symptoms of COVID-19, they will self-quarantine for 14 days from the last date of exposure to the person. They will self-monitor for symptoms, if symptoms develop follow CDC guidelines.

    • If a student or staff was in the same room/building as someone who tested positive for COVID-19, but not in close contact (as identified above), the risk of catching the virus from that person is low. Follow the general precautions, including social distancing, washing their hands, and monitoring for illness.

    • If a student or staff was around someone else who was exposed to a person that tested positive to COVID-19. As long as the person they were around is not currently sick and the staff or student was not around the person with COVID-19, they are not considered exposed to COVID-19. Follow the general precautions, including social distancing, washing their hands and monitoring for illness.