Cincinnati Public Schools students will no longer have to quarantine for a full two weeks when exposed to COVID-19 in the classroom, officials announced Thursday afternoon.
Students will now be required to quarantine for 10 days instead of 14. This is for "close contacts," including those who come within six feet of an infected student for at least 15 minutes and anyone who touches a student with COVID-19. CPS officials said the decision was made in collaboration with the Cincinnati Health Department and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
The 10-day rule at CPS is still more intense than the current statewide guidance for schools. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced in December that students exposed to the coronavirus while wearing a mask do not need to quarantine at all. Students exposed to COVID-19 without wearing a mask are still required to quarantine.
More: Ohio students exposed to COVID-19 in classroom won't have to quarantine
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DeWine lifted the quarantine mandate for students after Ohio State University conducted a study across seven school districts. The study found there was "no discernible difference" in the infection rate of students who were in close contact with a pupil who had tested positive for the virus and those who were not exposed, said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, medical director for the Ohio Department of Health.
Student athletes exposed to COVID-19 in the classroom were still expected to stay home from extracurriculars until mid-March, when DeWine again loosened quarantine guidelines for Ohio students. CPS made no changes to its quarantine guidance at that time, either.
Ohio students exposed to COVID-19 outside of the classroom might still need to quarantine for seven days with a negative COVID-19 test or 10 days without a test, Vanderhoff said during a March 11 press conference. Schools have been encouraged to partner with their local health departments to come up with safety protocols, as CPS has done with the Cincinnati Health Department.
Students and families at CPS have been questioning the district's strict guidance since DeWine's announcement. Steve Simon, who said he has a son at Walnut Hills High School, spoke up during a Board of Education meeting in early April. He said Walnut students only have eight weeks total to be in school this year.
"To lose two weeks is a lot," Simon said.
More: CPS board adopts resolution to offer in-person, remote and blended learning in '21-'22 school year
As of Friday, there were 17 staff and 124 student cumulative cases of COVID-19 reported in CPS since the district returned to five-day in-person learning on March 31. CPS provides a COVID-19 positive case tracker, searchable by school, on its website.
On Friday, CPS board member Mike Moroski told The Enquirer he empathizes with students and families who don't want to be out for another 10 days for quarantine. But he is still "airing on the side of caution."
"You know, the cases aren't steadily declining," Moroski said. "We are seeing more cases, which is concerning."
Board president Carolyn Jones told The Enquirer the district will closely monitor the data over the next couple of weeks and "possibly reconsider" further modifications.
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