COVID Protocols 2022-2023

Symptom Awareness and At-Home Testing

Individuals who experience COVID symptoms, including symptoms typical of a common cold (e.g., infrequent cough, runny nose, sore throat, etc.) and fever less than 100 F, should take an at-home test.

Students and employees who test negative can come to school but it is recommended that they wear a mask if experiencing respiratory symptoms.
Daily testing on days 1-3 should continue while symptoms persist.
Anyone who has a fever (>100 F) or feels feverish, should not report in person until their fever has resolved for at least 24 hours without medication.

The school reserves the right to require students or employees to go home if they exhibit any COVID symptoms in school.

Positive COVID Test

Anyone who tests positive for COVID should report their case to the health office at healthoffice@gfacademy.org.

Students and employees should stay home and isolate for five days from the first symptom or positive test date.
Individuals may return to school on day six as long as they have been fever free for 24 hours and symptoms have improved.
Individuals should wear a well-fitting mask when indoors through day 10.
Starting on day 6, anyone who has had two sequential negative tests 48 hours apart may remove their mask sooner than day 10.

***Should you need antigen test kits, please reach out to the health office***

A positive test result from an antigen test for a symptomatic individual will be treated as a definitive result; subsequent negative test results will not override a positive test result.

Refer to the CDC quarantine calendar to help understand the guidelines. This can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/isolation.html

Close Contact of Household Member

Regardless of vaccination status, individuals who have had close contact with a household member with COVID-19 no longer have to quarantine. They should

Wear a mask indoors while at school.
Take a COVID test five days after exposure.
If the close household contact tests negative on day 7, and your child tests negative and has no symptoms, they’re no longer required to wear a mask.

Vaccination

Vaccination is the most effective way to protect yourself and reduce the impact of COVID-19 on our communities.

GFA strongly encourages COVID-19 vaccination for all students and boosters for everyone five and older. Please submit copies of vaccination records to the school nurse (healthoffice@gfacademy.org).
A person is fully vaccinated 14 days after their final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., their second Pfizer or Moderna dose or their single Johnson & Johnson dose).

People who received their final dose of Pfizer or Moderna more than five months ago or their single dose of J&J more than two months ago are encouraged to get a booster shot to avoid having to self-quarantine due to known exposure to a positive case.

Greens Farms Academy has made indoor masking optional, with the exception of those who recently tested positive or have someone in their home with COVID-19. It is reasonable to assume that we will be living with COVID-19 for the foreseeable future, and as such, we will continue to monitor the incidence of the virus in our community. Please know that in the event that cases surge significantly in the region or on campus, we’ll be prepared to adjust our protocols accordingly.

Visitors

Visitors must follow the school’s COVID safety protocols. Please answer the following questions before coming to campus. If the answer is “yes” to at least one of these questions, please do not come to campus:

Do you have congestion or runny nose, cough, a fever or chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue or body aches, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, or loss of taste or smell?
Have you taken medication to reduce a fever or suppress a cough in the last 24 hours?
Is anyone in your household isolating because they tested positive for COVID-19?