Dear Parents,

As promised, the following is a quick update on the status of recommendations from the school’s COVID Mitigation Team regarding an update to our masking protocols.

As a reminder, the following was our statement on October 8 in advance of the Fall Break:
As we return from Fall Break, if the trend continues, the local case rate will likely approach the threshold we established for reconsidering our masking protocols. However, holidays have also been associated with spikes in numbers, so we want to continue to be cautious through the break and the rest of next week. But if the local case rates continue to decline and we get through next week without a significant spike in cases in our EDS community, we anticipate the likelihood that we would be able to lift much of the mask requirement as soon as Monday, October 18. Of course, masks may still be required in certain situations where people are gathered in large groups or in close contact for extended periods. 

Based on the numbers available today, COVID case rates have plateaued instead of continuing their steady decline which means that we have not yet reached the threshold we established to alter our masking protocols. Additionally, we have had another preschool student test positive and experience symptoms since our last update.  

However, some data would suggest that the plateau is temporary and that a decline will likely resume or may have already occurred which may be evidenced in reports that will be available later this week.

So, for the time being, the COVID Mitigation Team has recommended that we keep our current masking protocols in place a little longer. As we have for many months, we continue to monitor the available data. I anticipate we will send another update report prior to the school week starting Monday, October 25.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding, and for your efforts to help keep our school community healthy and safe.

 

Sincerely,