The Oconomowoc Area School District (OASD) has been working closely with Waukesha County and the Department of Health and Human Services to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community. A large part of this collaboration has involved tracking all positive cases in the OASD and notifying close contacts to those individuals through the school and County contact tracing process.
In late October, the Waukesha County Public Health Department announced that it had modified the standard of practice for disease investigation, contact notification, and symptom monitoring. Today's communication from County Executive Paul Farrow and County Health Officer Benjamen Jones explain what these changes mean for contact tracing and quarantining moving forward.
Waukesha County Public Health School District COVID-19 Contact Tracing Procedure Changes:
- Waukesha County Public Health will move from three attempts to two attempts to notify individuals by phone who test positive for COVID-19. All positive cases of COVID-19 will continue to receive a letter in the mail notifying them of their test results.
- County-level contact tracers will focus their work exclusively on collecting information regarding household contacts of individuals who test positive for COVID-19.
- Individuals who test positive will be instructed by Waukesha County Public Health how to notify close contacts outside of their household about their positive COVID-19 diagnosis, and their potential exposure.
- Notification to close contacts of a COVID-19 positive individual may no longer come directly from Waukesha County Public Health Department.
- Close contact may be notified by their school, place of employment, or acquaintances.
- Waukesha County Public Health will continue to collect information related to school and workplace COVID-19 exposures.
- Additional information about the initiative between Waukesha County government, schools, educators, and families to "Stay Safe to Stay Open" can be found at the Waukesha County Public Health Department website.
What This Means for the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Process in the OASD:
- The OASD Department of Nursing Services staff under the direction of OASD Director of Nursing Services will communicate to all District families regarding their student's close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual in our schools. OASD Department of Nursing Services staff will explain the quarantine process based on when exposure took place.
- The OASD Department of Nursing Services will direct families to notify all close contacts of their student, which occurred outside of school or school associated activities in the case of a positive COVID-19.
- It will be expected that families who have been notified of a close contact outside of school or school associated activities report their child absent from school based on having close contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19.
- The OASD will continue to follow guidelines and protocols for positive COVID-19 cases and quarantines from the Waukesha County Health Department and the CDC.