With so much uncertainty and concern surrounding schools reopening, parents, students and teachers want to know what happens if, and when, someone in the classroom tests positive for COVID-19. It is a question ABC15 has been getting a lot and we should receive more specific answers soon.
During our most recent virtual education town hall on the ABC15 Facebook page, we learned the Arizona Department of Education is working with the Arizona Department of Health Services right now. They are putting together more specific protocols for school districts on how to deal with coronavirus on their campuses.
"They have outlined the difference between isolation and quarantine, and defined some parameters very specific to what quarantine looks like, what to do exactly in the case that was mentioned, in addition to what to do if a student is symptomatic within the school day and that's the isolation portion, and then what it looks like to indicate quarantine," said Kate Wright, a deputy superintendent with the Department of Education.
The Department of Education expects to update its "Roadmap to Reopening AZ Schools" in the coming weeks once those new guidelines are finalized.
