Chief Head

Updated Quarantine guidelines: 1/14/21

Oklahoma health department’s new quarantine guidance for schools. 

Students and teachers exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID-19 in school are no longer required to be excluded from educational activities and in-person classroom instruction as long as the exposure happened in a classroom setting and everyone was wearing masks covering their nose and mouth.  Other quarantine requirements remain in effect, including exclusion from social activities or other public environments. 

If exposure happened in a classroom or classroom-like setting and both the positive case individual and the contacts that were within 6ft were wearing a mask properly and are not showing symptoms during that time then the following protocols can be followed:

  • Close contacts may remain in school for the duration of the time previously required to quarantine at home. 

  • Contacts will not be able to participate in any extracurricular activities during the normal quarantine periods. This includes practices and contests. 

  • If symptoms develop immediate isolation and quarantine away from school will be necessary until a negative test is confirmed or the student has met the 10 day quarantine goal with no further symptoms. 

This change will be effective immediately.  This only applies to case’s and contacts where exposure took place in the school setting.  Exposure in the home or outside of school must still follow previous quarantine protocols.  We hope that with this change it will be possible for students and staff to remain in the classroom as much as possible.  The key to this change in policy is proper mask wearing in the classroom when social distancing can not be achieved per our current health policy.  Parent’s will still have the option to elect to follow previous quarantine guidelines and keep their student at home and place them on distance learning during the required timelines. 

Please view the full set of Health Department guidelines here.

Thank you, 

Cherokee Public Schools