New PED toolkit cuts quarantine time

While the toolkit definitely has its drawbacks, the takeaway so far with Wednesday changes to the Public Education Department's COVID-19 mitigation toolbook is an optimistic one among area school leaders.

The PED announced new guidance with the surge of the Omicron variant that mostly matches guidance provided Dec. 27 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and adopted for the general New Mexico population on Jan. 6. Quarantines are reduced from 10 days to five for students and staff who have been exposed to COVID-19, and self-isolation is reduced from 10 days to five for those who test positive for the virus.

The updated guidance now requires a booster shot for school staff members to avoid quarantining if identified as a close contact. Previously, educators were not required to quarantine if they had completed the primary series - two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The guidance was released to superintendents and charter school leaders late Tuesday.

“School-based infections are still relatively low, and we are cautiously optimistic that most schools can continue safe in-person learning with these modifications,” Education Secretary Designate Kurt Steinhaus said in a PED release. “We remain committed to keeping students and school staff safe and healthy while maximizing opportunities for in-person learning.”

Portales Schools Superintendent Johnnie Cain was pleased to see a trend continue on lowering quarantine time for people who are not showing symptoms after an exposure. He noted the original PED toolkit required 20 days of quarantine, and that was later reduced to 10.

“The new toolkit information should help the schools a great deal,” Cain said. “It will allow teachers, staff and students to return after five days if they are not showing symptoms or fever free without medication for 24 hours. This will be especially helpful for those who test positive without symptoms so they can get back to school that much sooner.”

The Public Education Department sent a memo Tuesday to school leaders recommending, but not requiring, all schools implement Enhanced COVID-Safe Practices they created last fall to mitigate spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant. The PED monitors schools for school-based COVID cases daily. If a school reaches the 3% mark, the PED sends notifications. If those case numbers reach 5% of school population, the PED requires implementing the Enhanced CSP. As of Tuesday, 12 of New Mexico's 847 public schools were above the 5% threshold.

Clovis Superintendent Renee Russ told The News on Wednesday that staff was still looking into the new toolkit requirements, but did not get into specifics.

“Although we are very pleased that quarantine times have been reduced,” Russ said, “we do know that each situation will be unique and that the record-keeping and notifications will likely become even more challenging than they are already.”

A Friday release from the Clovis district expanded on that, noting that the district welcomes potential improvements and that staff shortages remained its greatest challenge.

“Our driving goals as a district are simple - keep schools safe, healthy, and open - but the efforts required to accomplish those objectives successfully are far more involved. Though ever-changing, often confusing and even frightening at times, it is important for us all to take note that the COVID situation continues to improve, and our schools are maintaining an approximate 1% COVID positivity rate, well-below the state's threshold for intervention measures.”

As of Friday, the Clovis district reported quarantines were impacting 95 staff members and approximately 600 students.

The district release said the rise in student and staff vaccinations helps limit quarantine requirements, and that a school-based COVID testing site at Yucca Middle School has helped in compliance with the state's “Test to Stay” initiative.

Cain said one complaint was the change in the standard for fully vaccinated, from either a Johnson & Johnson shot or two Moderna or Pfizer shots to also requiring a booster dose.

“This means, as of today, our schools will be testing almost double the number of individuals we were testing prior to the booster coming into play as being fully vaccinated,” Cain said. “I think some individuals are resistant to taking the booster because they had done everything they were asked and now there is just one more thing they must do, and it appears the health regulation requirements will never end.”