[November
23, 2021]
Dear
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Community:
The
health and safety of our students, staff and faculty of school community as
well as across the Archdiocese, is our top priority. We are committed to
ensuring you have all the information you need on COVID-19 as we continue to
navigate this public health emergency together.
Today we are writing to inform you that a
member of our school community self-reported a positive test result for
COVID-19. You/your child may have been exposed to COVID-19 as a member of our
school community who has tested positive for the virus. We are quickly
taking all appropriate action and following rigorous protocols developed by the
Centers for Disease Control and health authorities in New York. The CDC advises
that any symptoms of COVID-19 appear between 2 and 14 days from the date of
exposure.
As a potential close
contact of an individual who tested positive, the health authorities in New
York have informed us that you/your child is required to quarantine for 10 days
since the last date of contact on November 22nd with the
person who tested positive. The quarantine end date is up to and including December
2nd . In-person activities may resume the
following day. You may have been or will be contacted by the Health Department
about this quarantine; please answer their calls.
There are two exceptions to those
who must quarantine and if you fall under one of these exceptions, please
notify your school and you must provide proof to the school and the Department
of Health when they contact you:
·
Individuals
who are fully vaccinated (two weeks after last required
dose) according to the CDC and have had close contact with someone with
COVID-19 do not need to quarantine if they remain asymptomatic, they must
monitor daily for symptoms, must get tested 3-5 days after exposure and the
results be negative.
·
As
long as they remain asymptomatic,individuals who have tested positive for
COVID-19 within the last 90 days and who have completed their isolation period do
not need to quarantine after having close contact with someone with COVID-19.
·
Both
vaccinated individuals and those recently testing positive for COVID should
carefully monitor their health and wear a mask in indoor settings for 14 days
following their exposure.
Quarantine is
used to keep someone who might have been exposed to
COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that
can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the
virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate
themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their
state or local health department.
Below
are important safeguards to the health of our school community:
● The Health Department strongly recommends
that persons exposed to COVID-19 test three to five days after having close
contact. Testing is important even if your child does not feel sick because
some people with the infection have no symptoms. For information about testing,
call your child’s medical provider or visit https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you.
Testing is free at many sites and available regardless of immigration status. Even if the result shows that your child
was not infected with the virus on the day of the test, your child must stay
home for 10 days and monitor for symptoms for 14 days while they remain at risk for developing infection.
● An individual in quarantine can
leave home only to visit a medical provider, to get a COVID-19 test or in an
emergency. It is important that you or your child stay home, even if your child
does not feel sick, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
● If you/your child develops symptoms
please contact your healthcare provider or in the event of a medical emergency
always call 911.
●
In rare cases, some children have
developed multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a new health condition
associated with COVID-19 that can result in serious illness. Symptoms may
include fever lasting several days, red or pink eyes, swollen hands and feet,
rash, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, red cracked lips or red bumpy tongue
that looks like a strawberry. If your
child develops any symptoms contact a medical provider immediately.
●
Get Vaccinated! We
strongly encourage you and anyone eligible to get vaccinated. You may have seen Pope Francis’s recent Ad Council
video. Vaccinations are one of the many ways to keep
everyone safe and our schools open for in-person instruction. This action can
save your life and that of another! Click here for a vaccine appointment or walk into any
vaccine center.
●
I would encourage you to visit
the CDC website www.CDC.gov and New York State
Department of Health https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home for additional factual information and resources. It is important
to listen to facts and not respond to fear, rumor, innuendo, or social media.
While we have all been diligent in fighting the spread
of the virus, COVID-19 is still active in our communities. Monitoring for
symptoms, staying home when sick, practicing social distancing, washing hands, and
wearing a mask are the critical steps you can take to continue to protect
yourself and our community.
We will continue to
closely follow directions from public health experts and proactively
update you on any measures we are taking.
Sincerely,
Andrew G. Woods, principal
