If your child is at school and experiences any of the symptoms below (symptoms not caused by another condition), they will be sent to the school health room and will be immediately sent home. 

• Fever (defined as subjective or 100.4 F or higher)
• Chills
• Cough
• Loss of sense of taste and/or smell
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle or body aches  
• Sore throat 
• Congestion or runny nose 
• Nausea or vomiting 
• Diarrhea (defined as 2 or more loose stool in 24 hours)

Students can return the next school day if any of the below symptoms have resolved:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle or body aches  
• Sore throat 
• Congestion or runny nose 
• Nausea or vomiting 
• Diarrhea (defined as 2 or more loose stool in 24 hours)

However, upon returning home, students with any of the symptoms below must remain home for 10 days unless:

• If the child or staff member is tested for COVID-19 and the results are negative, they may return to school once their symptoms have improved and they’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours. The exception is if they are a close contact of a confirmed case – close contacts must wait the full 14-day quarantine period to return to school or childcare, regardless of symptoms or test results.
• Those who are ill but have not tested positive for COVID-19 and are not close contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, may obtain a medical professional’s note clearing them for return. The medical professional’s note must be based on the individual’s established medical history or must include an alternative lab-confirmed diagnosis.
• Anyone with symptoms is encouraged to get tested. However, if a student or staff member has symptoms but is not tested, they must remain home until at least 10 days after symptoms started and at least 24 hours after fever is gone and symptoms have improved.

The above holds true if the student has one of these symptoms:

• Fever (defined as subjective or 100.4 F or higher)
• Chills
• Cough
• Loss of sense of taste and/or smell
• Shortness of breath

Or two of these symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle or body aches
• Sore throat 
• Congestion or runny nose 
• Nausea or vomiting 
• Diarrhea (defined as 2 or more loose stool in 24 hours)

Parents/guardians will complete daily attestations for their students prior to them coming to school. Staff will also complete the daily attestation. The Snohomish School District uses an automated attestation system from a company called Qualtrics. This is also the company working in direct partnership with many ESDs and school districts around the county, state and country. Information is protected and is confidential.

Students/staff who arrive at school without a completed attestation complete will be asked the questions by staff and will have their temperature taken. All health and safety protocols and training will be followed. If the answer to any of the below is yes, the parents/guardians will be contacted to immediately pick up their student and staff will be asked to immediately return home.

1. Do you have any of the following symptoms within the last day that are not caused by another condition? (If it is the first day back after a break or for a new student, please ask about the past three days.)

• Fever (defined as subjective or 100.4 F or higher)
• Chills
• Cough
• Loss of sense of taste and/or smell
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle or body aches  
• Sore throat 
• Congestion or runny nose 
• Nausea or vomiting 
• Diarrhea (defined as 2 or more loose stool in 24 hours)

2. Have you been in close contact with anyone with confirmed COVID-19 in the past 14 days?

3. Have you had a positive COVID-19 test for active virus in the past 10 days, or are you awaiting results of a COVID-19 test?

4. Within the past 14 days, has a public health or medical professional told you to self-monitor, self-isolate, or self-quarantine because of concerns about COVID-19 infection?

The Snohomish School District will follow all protocols and guidance issued by the Snohomish Health District. Snohomish Health District screening protocols and case reporting documents are found by clicking here.

If a student or staff member is not feeling well and has any symptoms of illness, even mild ones, please stay home. Symptoms could include cough, sore throat, fever, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or loss of taste or smell. One symptom is enough to warrant staying home as a precaution.

We know it can be frustrating to stay home with mild symptoms. Children get sniffles, a cough, or upset stomach from time to time, and this is usually not cause for alarm. But this pandemic is the time for extra caution, and all students and staff should stay home even if symptoms are mild.

If a student or staff member with symptoms does go to school, or if they start having symptoms while they are at school, expect they will be isolated and sent home as soon as possible. This means an ill student would likely be asked to wait in a dedicated room where they are not near others until a parent/guardian arrives to take them home. Students who are ill or are symptomatic should be picked up within 30 minutes of parents/guardians being contacted.

Upon returning home:

• If the child or staff member is tested for COVID-19 and the results are negative, they may return to school once their symptoms have improved and they’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours. The exception is if they are a close contact of a confirmed case – close contacts must wait the full 14-day quarantine period to return to school or childcare, regardless of symptoms or test results.
• Anyone with symptoms is encouraged to get tested. However, if a student or staff member has symptoms but is not tested, they must remain home until at least 10 days after symptoms started and at least 24 hours after fever is gone and symptoms have improved.
• Those who are ill but have not tested positive for COVID-19 and are not close contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, may obtain a medical professional’s note clearing them for return. The medical professional’s note must be based on the individual’s established medical history or must include an alternative lab-confirmed diagnosis.
• If a staff member becomes ill while at school, they would return home immediately. The same timelines outlined above for students would apply for teachers/staff members, as well.

• Click here for the Washington State Department of Health Return to School/Childcare/Work Guidance Following a Positive Symptom Screen for COVID-19 and No Exposure document.
• Click here to learn more.
• Click here for Snohomish Health District testing sites.

Positive COVID-19 test results

• Return to school after 10-day isolation period (from the date of their test (if no symptoms) or from the date of symptoms onset).
• If symptoms or fever persist after 10-day isolation, person who tested positive can return when there is no fever and symptoms are improving.

Negative COVID-19 test results and not a close contact

• Return to school once symptoms have improved and no fever for at least 24 hours.

Close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case

• Stay home for the full 14-day quarantine period, regardless of symptoms or negative test results.
• If you/your child develop symptoms please get tested for COVID-19.
• If you/your child tests positive for COVID-19 please refer to isolation guidelines for when to return to school.
• Note: All persons or family members living under one roof of a person who tests positive must quarantine 24 days (14 days in addition to the positive person's 10-day quarantine).

Symptoms but not tested for COVID-19

• Remain home for at least 10 days after symptoms started and at least 24 hours after fever is gone and symptoms improve.

Can I get a note from my medical professional?

• Those who are ill but have not tested positive for COVID-19 and are not close contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, may obtain a medical professional’s note clearing them for return. The medical professional’s note must be based on the individual’s established medical history or must include an alternative lab-confirmed diagnosis.

These timelines apply to students and staff.

• Click here for the Washington State Department of Health Return to School/Childcare/Work Guidance (No COVID-19 Exposure) document.
• Click here to learn more.

There are three key things that occur in our schools should there be a confirmed case of COVID-19:

• The staff or student positive case is taken to the school's isolation room and sent home to quarantine/isolate according to Snohomish Health District requirements.
• The district and the Snohomish Health District collaborate on identifying close contacts, if any.
• The district does a disinfection of spaces where the positive case was (close space before cleaning for 24 hours if possible).

The Snohomish Health District has a team dedicated to responding to COVID-19 in schools and child care. When there is a positive case, disease investigators reach out to the person who has tested positive (or parents/guardians, when that person is a child). The schools and child care team also works closely with the school or child care provider.

Close contacts of the case are identified with guidance from public health staff. The school or child care compiles a list to provide via a secure portal to the Snohomish Health District. Trained contact tracers reach out to everyone who has been identified as a close contact. This would include anyone who spent at least 15 minutes within six feet of the person during the period when they would be considered infectious. A person is considered contagious two days before symptoms show up.

Close contacts are notified directly via phone call by public health staff.

If you have not received a call or voicemail from public health, proceed about your day as you normally would. If your child is healthy and no one in your household has been ill or been in close contact with a case, your child does not need to quarantine or isolate.

Here are a few things to know about how schools and public health are working together to help keep students, staff and families healthy.

Isolation rooms have been identified and set up in every school to isolate symptomatic staff and students while awaiting their ride home. Students who are ill or are symptomatic should be picked up within 30 minutes of parents/guardians being contacted.

From Snohomsih Health District - There are currently no restrictions for who can be tested for COVID-19 in Washington. The highest priority for testing is still people with symptoms. If you are ill with any of the following symptoms, please seek testing as soon as possible.

• Fever (defined as subjective or 100.4 F or higher)
• Chills
• Cough
• Loss of sense of taste and/or smell
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle or body aches  
• Sore throat 
• Congestion or runny nose 
• Nausea or vomiting 
• Diarrhea (defined as 2 or more loose stool in 24 hours)

The exception is if your symptom is clearly attributed to an existing condition and is not unusual for you. For example, people may experience headaches or fatigue due to existing conditions, so the symptom is not new and they do not necessarily need to be tested for COVID-19. 

However, if you do experience one or more of these symptoms and they are not attributed to an existing diagnosis, get tested even if those symptoms are mild. Also, if you are not sure whether something is related to an existing condition or whether it may be a new illness, talk to your medical provider and consider getting tested for COVID-19. 

People without symptoms may also need to be tested. There are a number of people who do not have symptoms but should consider testing because they are at higher risk of being asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic cases. This includes anyone who: 

• Is a close contact of a confirmed case 
• Lives in a congregate setting, like a shelter, group home or assisted living facility
• Works in a location that has had a case 
• Is part of a family or social network that has had a case 
• Works in healthcare, EMS, law enforcement or other fields with a higher risk of catching or spreading COVID-19 
• Is part of a racial or ethnic group that has been disproportionately impacted by this virus in terms of rate or severity of cases (this includes people who are Black, Latinx, Native American/Alaskan Native, or Pacific Islander) 
• Requires testing for employment or travel 
• Requires testing prior to a medical procedure. 
• People also may be tested in a healthcare setting at the discretion of their medical provider. This could include pregnant women who are going into the hospital for labor and delivery, or people who will be participating in procedures or tests that may generate a cloud of droplets and increase risk of transmitting the virus.

The Snohomish Health District has been operating community-based, drive-thru testing sites with support from the Medical Reserve Corps and others partners. Information on new dates and times for testing, criteria to get testing, and how to register online for an appointment is available at www.snohd.org/testing. 

Those who are being tested for COVID-19 are to remain isolated at home while results are pending. Others who live with them but are not ill will only be required to quarantine if the test results are positive.

• Click here for the Washington State Department of Health Return to School/Childcare/Work Guidance Following a Positive Symptom Screen for COVID-19 and No Exposure document.
• Click here to learn more.

Any individual with a positive COVID-19 test result requires isolation for 10 days. Those individuals who are determined to be a close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 have been or will be contacted by the Snohomish Health District.

Close contacts must quarantine for 14 days after the last close contact with the person who tested positive and are advised to seek immediate testing if they become symptomatic. Close contact is defined as being within 6-feet for 15 or more cumulative minutes (over 24-hour period) of person (masked or unmasked) who tested positive 48 hours from date of positive test (if no symptoms) or 48 hours from symptom onset.

If you were determined to be in close contact, you will be contacted by phone by the Snohomish Health District. If you have not been notified by the Snohomish Health District, you do not need to quarantine or isolate.

• There is a public health order that requires close contacts of a confirmed case to quarantine. The quarantine period lasts for 14 days from their most recent contact. If you receive a phone call from a contact tracer, they provide the start date. No one who is a close contact of a confirmed case should be at school or child care during their quarantine period.

• Others in the household are urged to quarantine if one person is a close contact. If a parent/guardian, sibling, or someone else a student lives with has been identified as a close contact of a COVID-19 case, the preferred plan is to keep everyone in the household home and monitor for symptoms during the quarantine period.

• If school officials are informed that a student or staff member is a close contact of a confirmed case and has come to school during the quarantine period despite the health order, they may ask them to return home, or to isolate in a designated room until a parent/guardian can pick them up.

• Click here for an information sheet from the Snohomish Health District regarding "What to do if you were exposed to someone with confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19)"

• Click here for more information.

• Do not expect your school or the Snohomish Health District to provide the name of a student or staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19. This is protected personal
  health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Public health and schools also are not providing detailed information that could identify individuals.
• Snohomish Health District contact tracers are required to adhere to privacy requirements. They will do their best to answer questions, but won't divulge others' personal health information.
• If you know the identity of someone who has COVID-19 through personal channels, do not share that information publicly.
• Identifying ill students or staff on a public platform does not add to disease control efforts, and is likely to raise problems rather than solve them.

Do not expect your school or the Snohomish Health District to provide you with the name of a student or staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19. This is protected personal health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

If you get a call that you or your child has been identified as a close contact of a confirmed case, public health staff will do their best to answer your questions. However, contact tracers are required to adhere to medical privacy law and are therefore instructed not to share the name of the person who tested positive.

Public health and school officials also are not providing detailed information that could identify individuals. We understand that parents may want to ask whether the case was a student or staff member, what grade they teach or are in, what classrooms they spent time in, etc. However, not all details will be shared because this can jeopardize the privacy of individual cases.

Click here to learn more.

A student or staff member describing or showing symptoms of COVID-19 at school will be directed to the school’s isolation room by the COVID-19 supervisor. The student's parent/guardian will be called to take the student home. Staff should notify the principal and leave if able to drive home. If not able to drive home, staff should go to the isolation room until someone comes to pick them up.

Regarding exposure, refer to the district's Safe Re-Opening District Handbook and attachments from Washington State Department of Health and Snohomish Health District.

The below timelines apply to students and staff:

• Positive COVID-19 test results
  • Return to school after 10-day quarantine period (from the date of their test (if no symptoms) or from the date of symptoms onset).
  • If symptoms or fever persist after 10-day quarantine, person who tested positive can return when there is no fever and symptoms are improving.
• Negative COVID-19 test results and not a close contact
  • Symptoms: Fever (defined as subjective or 100.4 F or higher), chills, cough, loss of sense of taste and/or smell, shortness of breath, fatigue, headache, muscle or body aches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea (defined as 2 or more loose stool in 24 hours).
  • Return to school once symptoms have improved and no fever for at least 24 hours.
• Close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case
  • Stay home for the full 14-day quarantine period, regardless of symptoms or test results.
• Symptoms but not tested for COVID-19
  • Symptoms: Fever (defined as subjective or 100.4 F or higher), chills, cough, loss of sense of taste and/or smell, shortness of breath, fatigue, headache, muscle or body aches, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea (defined as 2 or more loose stool in 24 hours).
  • Remain home for at least 10 days after symptoms started and at least 24 hours after fever is gone and symptoms improve.
• Can I get a note from my medical professional?
  • Those who are ill but have not tested positive for COVID-19 and are not close contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, may obtain a medical professional’s note clearing them for return. The medical professional’s note must be based on the individual’s established medical history or must include an alternative lab-confirmed diagnosis.

Parents/guardians will complete daily attestations/screenings for their students prior to them coming to school. The Snohomish School District uses an automated attestation system from a company called Qualtrics. This is also the company working in direct partnership with many ESDs and school districts around the county, state and country. Information will be protected and is confidential.

Students and staff who arrive at school without a completed attestation will be asked the questions by staff and will have their temperature taken. All health and safety protocols and training will be followed. If the answer to any of the below is yes, the parents/guardians will be contacted to immediately pick up their student.

1. Do you have any of the following symptoms within the last day that are not caused by another condition? (If it is the first day back after a break or for a new student, please ask about the past three days.)

• Fever (defined as subjective or 100.4 F or higher)
• Chills
• Cough
• Loss of sense of taste and/or smell
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Muscle or body aches  
• Sore throat 
• Congestion or runny nose 
• Nausea or vomiting 
• Diarrhea (defined as 2 or more loose stool in 24 hours)

2. Have you been in close contact with anyone with confirmed COVID-19 in the past 14 days?

3. Have you had a positive COVID-19 test for active virus in the past 10 days?

4. Within the past 14 days, has a public health or medical professional told you to self-monitor, self-isolate, or self-quarantine because of concerns about COVID-19 infection?