WHEN CAN MY CHILD/STUDENT END QUARANTINE?
If your child/student came in close contact with someone with COVID-19, they will need to quarantine. Review the scenarios below to determine when your child/student can end quarantine and return to school and other activities.
First, some information on quarantine:
What is quarantine? Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department.
Who needs to quarantine? People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, excluding people who have had COVID-19 within the past 3 months.
What counts as close contact?
- You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more.
- You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19.
- You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them).
- You shared eating or drinking utensils.
- They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you.
When can my child/student exit quarantine and return to school and other activities?
Scenario 1: Close contact with someone who has COVID-19 — will not have further close contact
Your child/student had close contact with someone who has COVID-19 and will not have further contact or interactions with the person while they are sick (e.g. neighbor or friend).
Your child/student’s last day of quarantine is 14 days from the date they had close contact and can return to school on the 15th day.
Scenario 2: Close contact with someone who has COVID-19 — live with the person but can avoid further close contact
Someone in my household has COVID-19 and that person has isolated by staying in a separate bedroom since testing positive. No one in our home had close contact with the person since they isolated.
You and your children/students’ last day of quarantine is 14 days from when the person with COVID-19 began home isolation. You can exit quarantine and your children/students can return to school on the 15th day.
Scenario 3: Under quarantine and had additional close contact with someone who has COVID-19
Someone in my household has COVID-19 and that person has isolated by staying in a separate bedroom since testing positive, but…
…my other children/students end up having close contact with the person in our house who is sick.
OR
…another household member gets sick with COVID-19.
You and your children/students will have to restart your quarantines from the last day you had close contact with anyone in your house who has COVID-19. Any time a new household member gets sick with COVID-19 and you had close contact, you will need to restart your quarantine.
Scenario 4: Live with someone who has COVID-19 and cannot avoid continued close contact
Someone in my home has COVID-19 and the rest of us in the home cannot avoid close contact with them. We don’t have a separate bedroom to isolate the person who is sick, or we live in close quarters where we’re unable to keep a physical distance of 6 feet.
You should avoid contact with others outside the home while the person is sick and quarantine for 14 days after the person who has COVID-19 meets the criteria to end home isolation.
What if my child/student was exposed to someone with COVID-19 at school?
Since Utah schools have multiple measures in place to prevent spread, if your child/student had close contact with someone with COVID-19 while at school they may qualify for the state’s low risk test and return option. Students can return to school after 7 days of quarantine if they were exposed to the virus at school AND:
- The school verifies that your student and the person who tested positive were BOTH wearing a face mask.
- Your student has a negative COVID-19 test result (must be a PCR or antigen test, not an antibody test). The test result must be from at least 7 days after the last exposure to the person who tested positive.
- Your student does not have symptoms of COVID-19.
If your student meets ALL three criteria he or she may return to all school related activities, if they choose. If they don’t meet ALL three criteria or chooses not to get tested, he or she should quarantine at home for 14 days from the last day of exposure (see Scenario 1 above)
Please note, these guidelines only apply to exposures that occurred at school. If your child was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in any other setting (e.g. at home, at a friend’s house, etc.) they do not qualify for this low risk test and return option and must undergo a full 14 day quarantine from their last day of exposure.