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Starting Monday, Henrico County Public Schools students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for only five days if they are fever-free without medication and their symptoms are improving. The previous isolation time was 10 days.
The change, announced during Thursday's Henrico School Board work session, reflects updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Virginia Department of Health.
After returning to school or work, the person must wear a face mask at all times for the next five days and be physically distant from others, no matter their vaccination status.
No changes to quarantine rules were announced at Thursday’s Henrico School Board work session. Two weeks ago, quarantine rules were changed to require booster shots for eligible adults in order to avoid quarantine. (Isolation refers to people who test positive for COVID-19, while quarantine refers to people who were exposed to someone else with COVID-19.)
End to contact tracing
Following the lead of the state health department, HCPS will no longer contact trace each positive COVID-19 case. The shift will allow school staff to focus on instruction, HCPS Chief of Staff Beth Tiegen said Thursday.
The VDH announced Tuesday that it is ceasing its attempts to investigate every case in order to focus on follow-up of outbreaks and cases in high risk settings.
It is no longer possible or fruitful to track every case because the Omicron variant is spreading so quickly, according to the VDH. While the illness is more mild than previous variants, the sheer number of cases is straining the state’s health care system.
HCPS will continue to investigate and report positive cases and outbreaks (two or more related cases).
Masking transition plans
There are no changes to Henrico County Public Schools’ universal masking requirements for now.
However, Teigen said Thursday that the health committee is considering when it may be warranted to discontinue or change mitigation strategies, including masking.
The health committee is working to determine which levels of transmission, vaccinations and other factors would provide off-ramps for reversal masking as a mitigation.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order, which rescinds the K-12 mask mandate, took effect on Monday. Despite the order, HCPS maintained its masking requirements, citing a state law that requires schools to follow CDC guidance to the greatest extent practicable.
“While we have reviewed the order and agree that parental choice and involvement is critical, the executive order is in conflict with the existing law Senate Bill 1303, which remains in place until August,” Teigen said. “The federal order for masking on buses remains and of course, the state constitution calls for local school board authority related to local division matters.”
The governor’s order doesn’t prevent school divisions from requiring masks; it states that parents may elect for their children not to be subject to any mask mandate in effect at the child’s school. Despite the executive order, the vast majority of HCPS’s 49,000 students arrived at school wearing their masks on Monday.
“We continue to adhere to our mask protocols with fidelity," said HCPS spokeswoman Eileen Cox. "HCPS is pleased to report that successful instruction was reported at all our schools this week."
The enforceability of Youngkin’s executive order likely will be decided in court. A group of parents filed a lawsuit against the governor last week in the Supreme Court of Virginia claiming that the order is unconstitutional. Attorney General Jason Miyares later filed a motion to dismiss that lawsuit.
On Sunday evening, seven Virginia school boards including Richmond and Fairfax filed a joint lawsuit against Youngkin. The suit claims that the governor cannot override the constitution of Virginia (which gives local school boards authority over school operations) and SB 1303.
HCPS “was made aware of conversations between school divisions about potential lawsuits,” Cox said, but the Henrico School Board is not involved in the lawsuit.
Late last week, Youngkin urged parents to listen to their principals on masking for the time being, until the matter is settled in court and the constitutionality of his order becomes more clear.
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Anna Bryson is the Henrico Citizen's education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar.
