Education officials say all Maryland public schools will be open five days a week for in-person classes next school year, despite currently rising coronavirus cases and changing federal guidance on masking. There are no plans to switch back to online learning.

Should students return to school while in COVID-19 quarantine?

No. CDC recommends students and staff who are asked to quarantine should not go to school or school events in-person during their quarantine period.

Can children still go to school if parents tested positive for COVID-19?

If you or anyone in your household tests positive, your child should follow your school’s guidance for quarantine. If your child also tests positive, they should not go to school, even if they are not showing symptoms. They should follow your school’s guidance for isolation.

How do schools know if a student has COVID-19?

This process starts when a school becomes aware of someone within the school community who has COVID-19. Schools may find out about people having COVID-19 in a number of ways, including through parent reports to the school, self-reports from students or staff, or screening testing conducted by the school.

What is the recommended distance from students in school during the COVID-19 pandemic?

•Due to the circulating and highly contagious Delta variant, CDC recommends universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.

•In addition to universal indoor masking, CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms to reduce transmission risk. When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully re-open while maintaining these distances, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as screening testing.

Will Maryland schools reopen?

29 related questions found

What is the minimum distance to be kept from each other to avoid COVID-19?

Be a hero and break the chain of COVID-19 transmission by practicing physical distancing.

This means we keep a distance of at least 1m from each other and avoid spending time in crowded places or in groups.

What are the most important prevention strategies for COVID-19 in schools?

• The most important prevention strategies to prioritize in schools include vaccinations for teachers, staff, and eligible students, the use of masks and physical distancing, and screening testing.

What is contact tracing for students during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Contact tracing with staff and students is an effective strategy to identify and isolate cases and close contacts to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Students, staff, and educators who are not vaccinated and have had close contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19 are at greatest risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Can I still have sex during the coronavirus pandemic?

If both of you are healthy and feeling well, are practicing social distancing and have had no known exposure to anyone with COVID-19, touching, hugging, kissing, and sex are more likely to be safe.

What does a contact tracer do?

Contact tracers need to quickly locate and talk with the patients, assist in arranging for patients to isolate themselves, and work with patients to identify people with whom the patients have been in close contact so the contact tracer can locate them.

What should I do if my family members are infected with COVID-19?

The person with COVID-19 and all members of the household should wear a well-fitted mask and consistently, inside the home. If possible, one member of the household should care for the person with COVID-19 to limit the number of people in the household that are in close contact with the infected person.

How long do you need to stay home after coming into close contact with someone who has COVID-19?

Anyone who has had close contact with someone with COVID-19 should stay home for 14 days after their last exposure to that person.

When do you start being contagious with COVID-19?

A person with COVID-19 is considered infectious starting 2 days before they develop symptoms, or 2 days before the date of their positive test if they do not have symptoms.

How long should I stay in quarantine after exposure to COVID-19?

Quarantine means staying home for 14 days after you are exposed to someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. This is because you can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 but may not show symptoms for up to 14 days. Even though you may not show symptoms, you can still spread the virus.

Do I need to quarantine if I have completed my isolation for COVID-19?

No. If you recently completed isolation and someone in your household tests positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 shortly after the end of your isolation period, you do not have to quarantine or get tested as long as you do not develop new symptoms.

Should I self-quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19?

- If you have been fully vaccinated and around someone who has COVID-19 (close contact), you do not need to stay away from others (quarantine), or be restricted from work unless you develop COVID-like symptoms. We recommend that you get tested 3-5 days after your last exposure to someone with COVID-19.

How safe is intimacy with a partner during the COVID-19 pandemic?

If both of you are healthy and feeling well, are practicing social distancing and have had no known exposure to anyone with COVID-19, touching, hugging, kissing, and sex are more likely to be safe. Similarly, sharing a bed with a partner who is healthy should not be an issue.

Be aware, though, that the CDC reports that some people may have the virus and not yet have symptoms during the early part of the incubation period (presymptomatic). Additionally, some people never develop obvious symptoms of COVID-19 (asymptomatic). In either case, it’s possible that the virus might spread through physical contact and intimacy.

Can you get COVID-19 from kissing someone?

It's well known that the coronavirus infects the body's airways and other parts of the body, but new research indicates that the virus also infects mouth cells. You don't want to kiss someone who's got COVID.

What should you look for after being intimate with someone new during the COVID-19 pandemic?

After a close, high-risk encounter like sex, you should be mindful of your personal risk of contracting and falling ill to COVID-19 as well as the risk you may pose to those in your own circle. I recommend monitoring yourself closely for any symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, shortness of breath, cough, fatigue, the loss of taste and smell). Also, consider getting a COVID-19 test five to seven days after the interaction. I would also refrain from interacting with any at-risk persons within a 14 day period after the encounter. If you cannot avoid contact with a high-risk individual, take precautions to lower your risk profile by social distancing, choosing to interact with the individual in outdoor spaces as opposed to indoor spaces, and wearing a mask.

What is contact tracing in the context of COVID-19?

Scientists and public health workers are also working to stop the spread of COVID-19 through contact tracing. In this strategy, public health workers talk to people with COVID-19 to learn about all the people they were physically close to while they were potentially able to spread the disease.

What is considered a close contact of someone with COVID-19?

For COVID-19, a close contact is anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes).

How can contact tracing help in controlling the spread of COVID-19?

Contact tracing can break the chains of transmission through the rapid identification, isolation and clinical care of cases, and providing supported quarantine of contacts, meaning that virus transmission can be stopped.

How can I prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease?

• Wash your hands often with plain soap and water. The CDC recommends washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not available, the CDC recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Learn more about safely using hand sanitizer.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face covering or non-surgical mask when around others. Find more information about how to select, wear, and clean your mask.
• Avoid crowds and practice social distancing (stay at least 6 feet apart from others).
• Get the COVID-19 vaccine when it is offered to you.

What are the strategies implemented for the control of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Strategies in the control of an outbreak are screening, containment (or suppression), and mitigation. Screening is done with a device such as a thermometer to detect the elevated body temperature associated with fevers caused by the coronavirus.[185] Containment is undertaken in the early stages of the outbreak and aims to trace and isolate those infected as well as introduce other measures to stop the disease from spreading. When it is no longer possible to contain the disease, efforts then move to the mitigation stage: measures are taken to slow the spread and mitigate its effects on the healthcare system and society. A combination of both containment and mitigation measures may be undertaken at the same time.[186] Suppression requires more extreme measures so as to reverse the pandemic by reducing the basic reproduction number to less than 1.[187]

What are the CDC's recommendations for face masks in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic?

• Indoors: CDC recommends indoor masking for all individuals age 2 years and older, including students, teachers, staff, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.
• Outdoors: In general, people do not need to wear masks when outdoors. CDC recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings or during activities that involve sustained close contact with other people. Fully vaccinated people might choose to wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings if they or someone in their household is immunocompromised.