Suffolk County changes COVID quarantine and investigative protocols for schools

The Suffolk County health department has changed its quarantine and investigative protocols for schools.

It is no longer necessary for students and teachers who have been in the same classroom as a COVID-positive person to be quarantined, Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott wrote in a Nov. 10 letter to Suffolk’s school superintendents.

Quarantining is necessary only where the exposed person meets the definition of a “close contact,” Pigott wrote.

“Remember a close contact is defined as within six feet for ten minutes or more over a 24-hour period,” Pigott wrote.

“It is still considered close contact if masks are worn and barriers are on desks,” he wrote.

People in the same classroom — or any enclosed space — as a positive case who were not within six feet for 10 minutes or more during a 24-hour period are considered “proximate contacts.”

A proximate contact is defined as someone in the same enclosed environment, such as a classroom, office, or gatherings but greater than six feet from a person displaying symptoms of or has tested positive for COVID-19.

In addition, the county health department has revised its investigative protocols to concentrate on contact tracing in the community at large.

“[W]e will not be investigating each school case as thoroughly as we have been since the beginning of the school year,” Pigott wrote. “It is time to redirect our efforts on investigating the spread of COVID-19 in the community.”

“It has become increasingly clear that COVID-19 is spreading through gatherings outside of school — both large and small,” Pigott noted.

The health department’s determination was “based in no small part on the efforts school administrators made to reduce the risk of transmission in the school setting and the discovery that proximate contact in a school setting was not resulting in infection of additional cases,” the agency said in a statement this afternoon.

While the Riverhead school district has had positive cases among students and staff, “we are not seeing in-school spread in these cases due to the protocols we have been following,” Interim Superintendent Christine Tona said today.

“We are grateful for the assistance the Suffolk County Department of Health Services has provided thus far. We will continue to respond to cases and assist the SCDHS with identifying those who need to quarantine,” Tona said.

The health commissioner said his determination was also based on the need to reallocate staff resources to contact tracing where it is most needed.

Pigott said the health department has investigated “approximately 900 positive cases associated with over 300 school districts,” and said “the data indicates the efforts made to reduce the risk of transmission in the school setting are working.”

Pigott urged school superintendents to maintain social and physical distancing, which he said is “key.” Desks should “ideally be at least six feet apart,” he wrote.

In addition, the health commissioner said, “masks are essential.” Mask breaks are allowable but should be kept to a minimum, he wrote.

Shields and barriers are a great tool, especially when eating, Pigott said.

Ventilation is important, the commissioner said. “Keep doors and windows open or utilize a ventilation system with filters having a MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) of 13 or greater,” he wrote. (MERV 13 filters remove droplets from sneezes and coughs, in addition to other types of contaminants.)