2023-2024 Opening Information
COVID-19 Guidance
This guidance provides best practice considerations for schools for the 2022-2023 school year to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19 among students and staff.
Vaccination
Vaccination is the best way to reduce COVID-19 risk. NWP encourages all of scholars and their families be vaccinated. Visit the vaccine finder page(Open external link) or call 877-829-4692 to find a location near you. Up to date includes boosters for everyone who is eligible and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people. See At-A-Glance COVID-19 Vaccination Schedules (cdc.gov)(Open external link).
Vaccination Requirements
• Vaccination is still required for all NWP employees
• Vaccination is still required for other individuals who work on an NWP Campus.
Best Practice
Stay home if sick: Students and staff should stay home if they show any symptoms of COVID-19 or other illnesses and get tested for COVID-19.
Quarantine
Do students and staff have to quarantine following exposure to someone with COVID-19?
No. Quarantine is no longer recommended for people who are exposed to COVID-19. In schools, people who were exposed to COVID-19 should follow recommendations to wear a well-fitting mask and get tested. School administrators should confer with local health departments as applicable to determine how to manage exposures based on the local context and benefits of preserving access to in-person learning. Accommodations may be necessary for exposed people who cannot wear a mask or have difficulty wearing a wellfitting mask. Schools can also consider recommending masking and/or testing for a classroom in which a student was recently exposed who is unable to consistently and correctly wear a mask. School administrators should confer with local health departments as appropriate to discuss whether more stringent measures should be considered.
The CDC recommends that those exposed to COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status or history of prior COVID-19 infection wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days in public indoor settings (including school settings) and test on or after day 5 or sooner if symptoms develop.
Isolation
When should a student or staff member be sent home or stay home?
Students and staff with symptoms of respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, such as cough, fever, sore throat, vomiting or diarrhea should be sent home or directed to stay home. If at schools, the individual should wear a well-fitted mask while arrangements are made to go home even if they have not yet had a test. Testing is recommended for people with symptoms of COVID-19 as soon as possible after symptoms begin.
Isolate if COVID-19 positive: Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for 5 days and can return to school on day 6 if they have no symptoms or symptoms are improving. They must wear mask until day 10 after symptom onset or date of positive test, whichever is earlier.
These cases should be reported to their school so they can be report into the PUMA room for exposure notifications.
Get tested if exposed to COVID-19: Students and staff who are exposed to COVID-19 should get tested.
These individuals should receive home tests from their school and take two tests, at least 24 hours apart on day 4 and day 5 of their exposure. All exposed individuals should monitor for fever and other COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days after their exposure. If symptoms begin, they should not attend school and should isolate and get tested for COVID-19 again right away.
What are the current isolation requirements for students and staff who test positive for COVID-19?
Schools should ensure that people with COVID-19 isolate from others until able to leave school and not attend school until they have completed isolation. If a student or staff f member is suspected of or has tested positive for COVID-19 and are waiting to go home, they should wear a well-fitting mask and distance from others and students should be supervised by an adult. Once isolation has ended, people should wear a well-fitting mask or respirator around others through day 10. While testing is not generally required to determine the end of isolation or mask use following COVID-19 infection, schools have the discretion to impose screening requirements to prevent the possibility of asymptomatic people re-entering the school environment. CDC guidance indicates that people can use the test-based strategy outlined in the isolation guidance to potentially shorten the duration of post-isolation mask use. If using the test-based strategy, people should continue to wear a well-fitting mask or respirator in school and community settings until testing criteria have been met.
Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days at home even if they do not report having any symptoms.
For those with symptoms, day 1 is the first full day after symptom onset (Day 0 is the day of symptom onset). Those with symptoms may resume attending school after the day 5 if:
• They are fever free without fever reducing medicine for 24 hours and their symptoms are improving; AND
• They wear a mask through day 10 (day 1 is the first full day following symptom onset).
For those that had no symptoms, day 0 is the day they were tested (not the day you received your positive test result) and Day 1 is the first full day following the day they were tested—if someone develops symptoms within the 10 days of testing the clock restarts at day 0 on the day of symptom onset. Those with no symptoms may resume attending school after the day 5 if:
• They wear a mask through day 10.
Note: After having ended isolation, if COVID-19 symptoms recur or worsen, restart isolation at day 0. Day 0 of isolation is the day of symptom onset. Staff and student’s parents/guardians should be advised to talk to a healthcare provider about their symptoms or when to end isolation.
Testing
Starting the first day of school, NWP will offer home test kits to those with a potential inschool exposure and those with symptoms.
In addition, each staff and student will receive 4 tests per month to take home. These tests can be used by school families for testing due to symptoms, exposures, high-risk activity (such as travel and large gatherings) and can give staff and students immediate results.
Students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear a mask when:
• Returning to school on the sixth day after testing positive for COVID-19, through day 10 after symptom onset or date of positive test, whichever is earlier, including when traveling on a school bus.
• Exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 at school.
• Students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, are strongly recommended to wear a mask:
• When they were exposed to someone with COVID-19, whether the exposure occurred in school or outside of school. The person should wear a mask for 10 days after their last day of exposure and get tested at least 24 hours apart on day 4 and day 5 of their exposure.
• When they are moderately-to-severely immunocompromised, and masking is recommended by their healthcare provider.
• In crowded indoor settings
Ventilation
• The West and East Campuses have air filter symptom in each room. The South Campus has a filter system as part of its heating/air conditioning system.
• Monitoring ventilation in buildings on a daily basis and perform any required work in a timely manner. School Building
Cleaning
• We will continue with our COVID Cleaning protocols for each of our campuses, including the additional mid-day cleaning of classrooms while the students are at lunch. If there is a positive case, we will implement the appropriate procedures determined the NYC Department of Health.
MORE HELPFUL INFORMATION
Get Tested
Rapid Testing at Home
• Learn about Home Rapid Test Kits.
Find a COVID-19 Testing Site
All New York City students and staff members are strongly encouraged to get tested. Working in partnership with the Test+Trace Corps, families and staff members can go to any City-run testing sites to get tested or pick up readily available at-home rapid tests.
• To find a testing site offering rapid tests, visit nyc.gov/covidtest(Open external link), text “COVID TEST” to 855-48, or call 311
Get Vaccinated
• Get more information about where to get vaccinated(Open external link) (or call 877-VAX-4-NYC).
• We strongly encourage the COVID-19 vaccination for all age-eligible students.
