Keeping Ogden Healthy

Ogden School District’s plan for an effective, healthy and safe return to schools.

The impact of COVID-19 and the response continues to evolve and change. Ogden School District will provide updates as new information becomes available. We have been updating the Keeping Ogden Healthy plan for COVID-19 mitigation in schools. We have incorporated guidelines from the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and collaborated with the Weber-Morgan Health Department (WMHD) to develop our Keeping Ogden Healthy planner the 2021-2022 school year.

Ogden School District will continue our efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within the allowable limits of state law.

What Ogden School District will do:

  • We will continue to provide in-person learning opportunities.
  • We will maintain the stringent cleaning and sanitizing procedures we adopted in the 2020-2021 school year.
  • We will continue to promote healthy hygiene practices such as washing hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
  • We will continue efforts to limit close contact between multiple students for prolonged periods of time.
  • We will continue to collaborate with the Weber-Morgan Health Department to host vaccination clinics at schools based on community interest.
  • We will continue to provide positive, welcoming environments for all students.
  • We will respect the personal choice of families whether they decide to have their students wear face masks or not wear face masks.
  • We will communicate the recommendation of the health department that individuals who are not fully vaccinated wear a face mask.
  • We will provide face masks for students and employees who would like to receive them.
  • We will continue to operate Ogden Online Elementary School as an option for families who choose not to engage in in-person learning
  • We will partner with the WMHD by: 
    • Reporting positive cases from schools to the WMHD in a timely manner.
    • Continuing to conduct contact tracing to identify students and staff exposed to COVID-19 positive individuals in our schools and share that information privately with WMHD.
    • Support Weber-Morgan Health Department in their notification to families and staff of exposures and their recommendations and guidelines for quarantining.
    • Monitoring and publishing our COVID-19 positive count for each school location and the district total.

What Ogden School District may not do:

  • In accordance with state law, Ogden School District may not require face masks to be worn in school or during school functions.
  • Use funding appropriated by the Legislature for any incentive to receive a vaccination.

Ogden School District appreciates that our community has great concern for the well-being of our students and employees. We respect the deeply passionate opinions of our stakeholders and we acknowledge that while our stakeholders all want what is best for our students, not all stakeholders agree on the definition of what is best. We are committed to providing the healthiest environments possible while abiding by the laws of our state. We appreciate your support of student health and education.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions


What does “fully immunized” or “fully vaccinated” mean?
You are considered fully immunized or fully vaccinated two weeks after your final dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

  • Two-dose vaccines: 2 weeks after the 2nd shot (you need both shots to be fully protected)
  • One-dose vaccines: 2 weeks after shot (you need only one shot to be fully protected)

Do students, teachers, or school staff still need to quarantine if they are exposed to COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated?

  • Students and school staff who are fully vaccinated may continue in-person learning and participate in extracurricular activities, even if they are exposed to COVID-19.
  • However, if vaccinated individuals experience symptoms of COVID-19 after being exposed (which would be rare), they should isolate and talk to a doctor or healthcare provider. They may need to get tested for COVID-19.

What does “exposed” mean?
Exposed means someone has been in close contact with a person who has COVID-19 while that person was infected. Close contact means: 

  • You have been in physical contact of less than 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or longer in a 24 period; or
  • You had direct contact with the person with COVID-19 (hugged or kissed them, shared eating utensils, they sneezed, coughed or got respiratory droplets on you)
  • Up to two days before the infected person tested positive or showed symptoms or was infectious. 

What happens if someone tests positive?
If you’ve tested positive, you should isolate until you have been: 

  • Fever-free for 24 hours, and 
  • Your respiratory symptoms have improved for 24 hours, and 
  • It has been at least 10 days since you first got sick.
  • If you did not have symptoms, you should isolate for 10 days from the day you were tested. 
    • You are infectious and can spread the virus to others starting up to 2 days before you first had symptoms until your isolation period is over. If you never had symptoms, you are infectious starting 2 days before the day you were tested for COVID-19.

How long do students, teachers, or employees who have NOT been fully immunized need to quarantine for a HOUSEHOLD exposure?

  • If you are not fully vaccinated and live with someone who has COVID-19, the WMHD will advise you  and could mandate you to quarantine at home for 10 days, even if you don’t have symptoms or if you test negative.
  • You are at a much higher risk of getting infected with the virus. It can be very hard to stay isolated from people who have COVID-19 and live in your home. This means that you may need to quarantine longer than 10 days if you can’t stay away from the person who was infected.
  • Every time you come into close contact with the person who tested positive while they are infectious, your 10-day quarantine starts over because you were re-exposed to the virus.
  • All decisions regarding quarantine will be made and communicated to you by the health department. 

What are the UDOH quarantine recommendations if you are exposed at school? 
You may continue to attend school in-person if:

  • You are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (2 weeks after your final dose), OR
  • You and the person who tested positive were both wearing masks at the time of exposure, OR
  • You have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days.
  • For anyone who does not meet the criteria above, the UDOH standard protocol after an exposure is to quarantine.
  • A person who has not been vaccinated and has been exposed should quarantine. Quarantine means a person should not go to school, group gatherings or extracurricular activities. Quarantine keeps exposed persons away from others to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.
  • Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear 2-14 days after exposure.
  • Isolate and get tested if you get symptoms of COVID-19 after you were exposed, even if you are fully vaccinated or recently had COVID.
  • The Weber Morgan Health Department will contact you to inform you that you have been exposed and discuss quarantining options with you. Ogden School District will not be issuing quarantine recommendations or requirements.

What are quarantine options the Weber-Morgan Health Department might discuss with me?

  • Quarantining for 10 days without testing. End quarantine 10 days after the last time you had close contact with the person who tested positive if you do not have symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Quarantining for 7 days and testing with a negative test result. You must wait at least 7 days after your exposure to be tested. You can end quarantine if your test is negative and you do not have any symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Continuing to attend school and wearing a face mask at school for 10 days.
  • Continuing to attend school and wearing a face mask at school for 7 days and then getting tested. A negative test result will allow for attending school without a face mask being worn.

What will be the role of Ogden School District (OSD) in the identification, reporting, tracing and notifying families and staff of COVID-19 cases and exposures?

  • OSD will report any positive cases to the WMHD for investigation
  • WMHD will confirm the positive case and ask OSD to contact trace for possible exposures
  • OSD will conduct the contact tracing and report the results to WMHD 
  • WMHD will contact the exposed employees or the parents of the exposed students and discuss quarantine options
  • WMHD will advise OSD of students that are quarantined to allow schools to provide remote instruction during quarantine.

When does “Test to Stay” occur?

  • When a school meets the outbreak threshold the local education authority is required to do a Test to Stay event.

What is the outbreak threshold?

  • If a school has less than 1500 students then the threshold is met when 30 or more of the school’s students are “positive cases” (defined below) in a 14 day window.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
Not all symptoms are present in each case of COVID-19

  • Fever of 100.4º or higher 
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath
  • Decrease in sense of smell or taste
  • Sore throat
  • Muscle aches and pains
  • Nausea/Vomiting/Diarrhea
  • Chills
  • Headache

 

 

Keeping Ogden Healthy was developed with input from students, parents, teachers and staff. The Keeping Ogden Healthy plan originally focused on six key areas to ensure a safe and healthy return to school for the 2020-2021 school year:
Sanitation & Hygiene, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Physical Distancing, Student Well-Being, Staff Well-Being, and Student Learning & Engagement.

Keeping Ogden Healthy is currently being updated for the 2021-2022 school year and we will continue to provide the most recent information available from Ogden School District as well as local and state agencies.