As coronavirus mandates change, Quincy schools adjust

QUINCY — Students and staff are no longer required to wear masks indoors in Quincy schools as of Monday. Masks won’t be required on Quincy school buses moving forward either.

Some protocols instituted to fight the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be mandated by state authorities, but whether or not to continue other protocols will be up to individual school districts after Washington Governor Jay Inslee lifted to general mask mandate.

Colleen Frerks, principal at Ancient Lakes Elementary, updated members of the Quincy School Board on the most recent protocols at the board’s regular meeting March 8.

In a separate interview, Frerks remembered March 16, 2020, which turned out to be the last day of in-person instruction statewide for the 2019-20 school year. It was the beginning of a wide array of measures used to combat the pandemic, from alternate-day instruction to mask mandates.

The buses pulled out on the afternoon of March 16, and Frerkes said that, as she picked up the cones used for traffic control, she wondered when school would be open again and back to something like normal. The mask mandate was lifted almost exactly two years later.

Coronavirus case rates are dropping dramatically in Grant County, Frerks said during the board meeting. Grant County Health District officials announced March 10 that there were 69 new cases reported in Grant County between March 3 and 10. The county’s case rate was 123 cases per 100,000 people, compared to a case rate of 484 cases per 100,000 people on Feb. 24.

Some masking requirements will remain. People coming and going from building health rooms will be required to wear a mask, as well as people coming and going from the district’s isolation rooms. Masks also will be required in coronavirus testing areas.

Vaccinations for school staff, or proof of an exemption, will still be required, Frerks said. Vaccinations or exemptions are also required for volunteers and vendors on school property. That is a state mandate, she said.

Schools will be required to notify local health officials when a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19. Schools are also required to notify students or staff who come in contact with a person who has tested positive for the virus.

Masks will be required for people who have coronavirus symptoms, she said. Masks are also required in some circumstances for people who are returning to school after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people with COVID-19 isolate themselves for at least five days after a positive test result or the development of symptoms. Isolation is optional after five days if symptoms are improving or if the patient has been free of fever for at least 24 hours without medication. The CDC recommends people take precautions for at least 10 days after a positive test or the onset of symptoms.

In Quincy schools, masks will be required for people who return to school between the sixth and 10th days, if they don’t have a negative COVID-19 test. People who have a negative test don’t need to wear a mask.

Schools are encouraged to continue social distancing and frequent screening of staff and students, among other things, but whether or not to continue those practices will be up to individual school districts, according to state guidelines. It will be up to individual districts to decide whether or not to continue hand-washing protocols and extra cleaning. Districts can, but don’t have to, promote vaccinations and boosters, Frerks said.

Quincy district officials have opted to keep enhanced air filters in building ventilation systems, she said. State school officials had required schools to work to increase airflow, including open windows in classrooms. Administrators in each building will work on ways to keep the air flowing, but teachers won’t be asked to keep the window open.

Individual schools will be responsible for testing people who show coronavirus symptoms, Frerks said. Currently, the Quincy School District has a central site where people are sent for testing. She said the details of that change are still being worked out.

Quincy mask requirements:

In the nurse/health rooms

In isolation rooms

In the COVID-19 testing center

If they have COVID-19 symptoms

After returning from a COVID-19 illness for the sixth through 10th days after symptoms began, if the patient does not have a negative test.