Madison Schools Update COVID-19 Quarantine Policy, Vaccines

MADISON, CT —In a message to families Friday afternoon, Madison schools Superintendent Dr. Craig Cooke said the district is moving from a 10-day quarantine to a 7-day period in keeping with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The decreased isolation period means staff and students get back in the classroom sooner, he said.

But, per CIAC guidance, "quarantines for unvaccinated close contacts will remain at 10 days for a return to athletics," he said.

In the schools, there are currently two active students cases, one at Jeffrey Elementary School and one at Brown Intermediate School. There are no current staff cases.

Here's his full statement:

"Our district works hard to efficiently contact trace and identify students who must quarantine. We are trying to balance keeping our community safe while also preserving as many in-person learning days for students as possible. To that end, after speaking with our Director of Nursing, local Health Director, School Medical Advisor, and in accordance with CDC guidance, the District will now move to a 7-day quarantine. The 7-day quarantine period provides any student or staff member who is symptom free and receives a negative test result on day 5 or later of the quarantine the ability to return to school on day 8. Your school nurse must be in receipt of the negative PCR test result before the student or staff member can return to school. If any individual who chooses not to test will quarantine for the full 10 days. Drive-through testing at Yale Goose Lane in Guilford is a good local option as their test results typically come back within 24 hours."

Cooke also addressed vaccines:

"The guidance from CT Department of Health and CDC states that students that are fully vaccinated are exempt from quarantine. If your student(s) are fully vaccinated, we ask that you share that information with your school nurse so that your student may be exempt from quarantining. Proof of vaccination should be submitted to your medical provider to be added to the student’s official immunization record. Once that has been completed, the pediatrician can then forward the updated immunization record to our health offices. If you are experiencing difficulties sharing this information through your pediatrician, we ask that you share directly with the school nurse."