Health & Safety Guidelines

Staying home when sick can lower the risk of spreading infectious diseases, including COVID-19, to other people.

People who have symptoms of respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, such as cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, or a fever of 100 degrees or higher, should stay home. Testing is recommended for people with symptoms of COVID-19 as soon as possible after symptoms begin.  Possible COVID-19 symptoms include (but are not limited to):

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Students or staff who come to school with symptoms of illness or develop symptoms while at school will be asked to wear a well-fitting mask while in the Health Office and will be sent home and encouraged to be evaluated by their health care provider.

• If a student becomes injured or ill during the school day, staff will notify the Health Office.
  • Health Office staff will assist the student and/or determine if they need to go home.
  • Students who are ill will be kept isolated from well students as much as possible until a parent can pick them up.
  • If a student is symptomatic at school, the school will notify a parent/guardian for the student to be picked up and the student will be required to wear a mask while waiting.

If a student becomes ill during District programming outside of the regular school day/year, the program coordinator will follow District protocols.

Diagnostic testing is recommended for students and staff experiencing COVID-like symptoms or who were exposed to someone with COVID-19.

Minnesota has an extensive statewide testing operation. Residents have several ways in which they can access no-barrier testing, including community testing sites, and clinics and hospitals across the state.   

• Click here to find a no-barrier community testing site.
• Click here to find testing sites based on specific search criteria.
• The U.S. Postal Service resumed its free COVID test kits by mail program in December 2022. Please visit https://special.usps.com/testkits for details. 

If a student or staff member is notified of a positive COVID-19 case during the regular school year, the following process should occur:

• If any staff (building or District) are made aware of a COVID-positive case, they will notify the school nurse at their site. Please see the Health Staff listed on this webpage. The school nurse and administrative team will determine if notification notices need to be sent out and if so, to whom. 
• If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they should notify the health office of the school that they attend.

A student or staff member who tests positive for COVID-19 should isolate at home until all of these things are true:

• It has been at least 5 days since they first felt sick or tested positive (if asymptomatic); and,
• they feel better. Their cough, shortness of breath or other symptoms are better; and,
• they have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication.
• After you have ended isolation, you should wear your mask on days 6-10 when returning to school/work.
• If you still have a fever or if other symptoms have not improved, you should continue to isolate until they improve.

The first day of symptom onset or the first day of a positive test (if asymptomatic) is considered day "0." A helpful tool to calculate length of isolation can be found on the CDC Website.

If the COVID-positive student or staff member experiences mild or no symptoms:

You must isolate for 5 days (days 0-5), but may return on day 6, wearing a mask on days 6-10.

After isolation has ended, if the COVID-19 symptoms recur or worsen, the isolation period should be restarted at day 0.

If students were asymptomatic and then developed symptoms after testing positive, the 5-day isolation period starts over, with the start of symptoms being day zero.

You can spread COVID-19 to others starting a couple days before you have any symptoms, and even if you never have symptoms. If you spend time close to someone with COVID-19, you may have it too, but you may not know it. It is important to take the recommended steps (masking, watch for symptoms, test on day six, etc.) to keep from spreading the virus to others, even if you have been vaccinated or have already had COVID-19.

Learn more: Close Contact or Exposure to COVID-19 (MDH)