MICHIGAN, USA — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) updated their COVID-19 quarantine and isolation guidance for all K-12 students statewide on Monday.
The change was made to reflect current CDC recommendations. Students may only have to quarantine "as short as five days," MDHHS officials write in a release.
The MDHHS says the updates will allow students, teachers and staff to return to school sooner. The organization still recommends universal masking in K-12 classroom settings.
The updates include the following:
- Students, teachers & staff who test positive for COVID-19 and/or display COVID-19 symptoms should isolate regardless of vaccination status
- If positive with no symptoms, monitor for symptoms from day of exposure through day 10 of isolation
- Isolate at home for five days (day “0” is day symptoms begin or day test was taken for students, teachers & staff who do not have symptoms)
- If symptoms have improved or you continue to have no symptoms, return to school, while wearing a well-fitted mask, for days 6-10, or:
- Stay home for 10 days if unwilling/unable to wear a mask.
“We always advocate for preventative measures that keep our children safe,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief medical executive. “Children of school age – ages 5 and up – are now eligible to get vaccinated, and children ages 12 and up are eligible to get boosted. In addition to masking and testing, we feel confident that schools can remain as safe as possible for our children.”
The MDHHS still recommends the following:
- You isolate when you are already infected with COVID-19 and have tested positive, even if you do not have symptoms. Isolation is used to separate people who are infected with COVID-19 from those who are not infected.
- You quarantine when you might have been exposed to COVID-19. This is because you might become infected with COVID-19 and could spread COVID-19 to others.
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