New COVID-19 guidelines out from the CDC are far less restrictive than previous recommendations, and they were released just days before most Utah students go back to school.
Davis County Schools has 72,000 students, from five-year-old kids in Pre-K programs to teenagers in early college. This year, district officials have decided that safety will come from information and resources, not mandates.
The district says their policy lines up with the new CDC recommendations which include staying home and isolating for five days when sick. However, those with moderate to severe symptoms, or immune compromised, should make it 10 days. Gone are suggested mask and physical distance mandates, and screening asymptomatic people in community settings. It's a far cry from august 2021 when Davis Schools produced a lengthy outline of rules for everything from test-to-stay in the case of a school outbreak, and mandated 10-day isolation after testing positive.
The district received $900,000 in one-time funding, which it will use to hire a school nurse and 10 COVID aides employed to work with students and identify outbreaks. They have two years worth of filters for air purifiers in every classroom.