SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) shared new requirements and guidance to mitigate COVID-19 transmission in K-12 schools and child care during the upcoming school year.
The new guide and requirements were issued by the Washington State Department of Health (WSDH). During the meeting, Health Officer Dr. Francisco Velazquez shared the new back-to-school WSDH COVID-19 guidance that schools, staff, students, children and parents need to follow when returning to classrooms this fall.
Velazquez said that SRHD has been working with school partners to make sure they are able to bring students back to school safely and protect staff, teachers and families.
He said under the back-to-school WSDH COVID-19 guidance, children are not required to get vaccinated against COVID. However, those who qualify are recommended to get the vaccine.
The following is the back-to-school WSDH COVID-19 guidance:
- COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccines are recommended for children but not required to return to school.
- All employees, volunteers and indoor contractors in educational settings are required to be fully vaccinated or have a medical or religious exemption.
- Students, children and school staff who test positive for COVID-19 are required to isolate regardless of vaccination status and return to school after five full days of isolation if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms have improved, and they have had no fever for the past 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
- Students, children and staff returning from five days of isolation should wear a well-fitted mask for 6 to 10 days. Those returning are encouraged to test before doing so.
- School and childcare providers are no longer required to notify high-risk individuals of exposure directly but must continue to have a process in place to inform students, staff and families of cases and outbreaks.
- Schools and childcare providers are required to report outbreaks only when there are three or more cases within a specified core group, to local health jurisdictions (LHJ) and to have a system in place to respond
The SRHD will be offering a vaccine clinic at Shaw Middle School on Thursday, Aug. 25. The clinic will be offering all vaccines that are required for kids to go back to school and COVID-19 vaccines for adults including Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax. No appointments are required.
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