This is an important update regarding COVID-19 in our state and our school community.
Current situation in Minnesota:
On Tuesday, Nov. 17, State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm announced that Minnesota is experiencing an out-of-control growth of COVID-19. Medical teams from the Department of Defense will arrive next week to relieve doctors and nurses at Hennepin County Medical Center and St. Cloud Hospital who are battling the increasing spread of COVID-19 across Minnesota.
Current situation at SANB:
Our district continues to prioritize in-person learning in the safest way possible for students and staff. We are seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases within our buildings due to children being sent to school when they are sick or a child who is not fully vaccinated (two weeks after the completed vaccine series) is sent to school when a family member has symptoms.
- Do NOT send your child to school with ANY symptoms of illness (regardless of vaccination status).
- If anyone in a household has one or more symptoms of COVID-19 (regardless of vaccination status), individuals in that household who are not fully vaccinated (two weeks after the completed vaccine series) need to stay home until the symptomatic member receives a negative test result.
- If the test result is positive, individuals who are not fully vaccinated in the household need to stay home from school and test within 3-5 days following exposure.
- If a household member tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, they will need to isolate and remain home for 10 days following exposure.
- If the test result is positive, individuals who are not fully vaccinated in the household need to stay home from school and test within 3-5 days following exposure.
- If you or your child is a close contact and are not fully vaccinated, you should stay home and contact covidhealth@isd282.org for further direction.
Please reference the Minnesota Department of Health’s Decision Tree for people in schools, child care and youth programs. Send an email to covidhealth@isd282.org or call 612-440-5012 (between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday) if you need help navigating the decision tree.
Our mitigation strategies work best with your help:
Our current mitigation strategies work best when families remain diligent about keeping their children home when they are sick, having their child tested for COVID-19, and quarantining those who are unvaccinated while someone in the household awaits COVID-19 test results.
We need your help to prevent our district from shifting classrooms, grade levels, or buildings to a distance learning model due to outbreaks, or canceling athletics, activities or in-person events.
We understand the inconvenience of taking time off from work and school to bring your children to the doctor when they are sick, or to have your child tested for COVID-19, and/or to quarantine children who are close contacts.Yet, it is the right thing to do.
By taking these steps, we are prioritizing the health of our children, staff, families, and those who are immune-compromised and continuing to prioritize in-person learning.
Additional mitigation strategies being implemented to combat the rise in cases:
- Our new COVID-19 Testing Coordinator begins on Monday, Nov. 29. They will be in charge of testing symptomatic students with parental/guardian consent, and providing tests to kids who are in quarantine (again, with parental/guardian consent).
- We are hoping to begin COVID-19 pool testing the week of Dec. 6, once a week at each of our buildings.
We have a deep appreciation as families continue to help us with our mitigation measures.
Thank you,
Dr. Renee Corneille
Superintendent
Lori Watzl King, RN
District Wellness Coordinator