As 90% of Maryland’s hospitals are reaching capacity and the number of COVID-19 cases rise, Montgomery County officials are urging residents to return to mitigation methods to stop the spread.

“COVID is very, very real. It is still very much out there,” Dr. Patsy McNeil, chief medical officer at Adventist Health, said during a county press briefing Thursday.

Montgomery County is currently at a medium community level for COVID-19 transmission, said Sean O’Donnell, the county’s emergency preparedness manager. O’Donnell said 40% of COVID-19 tests taken at county testing sites this week were positive.

While officials have warned of a rising “tripledemic” in recent months, O’Donnell said flu and RSV cases are declining. However, COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

While the county is not mandating masking, officials are encouraging community members to take precautions by masking in large group settings or if they have been sick. They are also urging residents to get vaccinated and keep up with their booster shots.

The majority of patients being hospitalized with COVID-19, particularly those on a ventilator or other breathing assistance, are unvaccinated, McNeil said.

“I know that there is vaccine fatigue amongst those out in the community. I myself do not like or enjoy getting shots, but it is very important to keep up with those boosters to keep yourself healthy,” McNeil said. “And it’s not only about oneself being healthy. We all are in contact with people who are elderly, or cancer patients, or otherwise immune compromised. For the community benefit it is a citizen obligation, I believe, at the highest level to make sure that your vaccinations are up to date.”

According to county data, the majority of residents eligible for the COVID-19 bivalent booster have not received it. County data indicates that seniors over 65 have the highest rate of received boosters at 54%, and that number goes down with generations. Only 24% of eligible residents age 18-49 have received their booster.

While less than 10% of hospital beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, McNeil said that number would be higher if not for a state-funded alternative COVID-19 care site in Takoma Park, where more stable COVID-19 patients are transferred to allow the hospitals to focus on acute care. McNeil said between staffing shortages and pandemic fatigue, it is important to focus on decreasing the strain on healthcare workers.

“Doctors and nurses are experiencing burnout,” she said.

McNeil said it is important to still take precautions even if you have already had COVID-19 before. While the body does develop antibodies after contracting the virus, the virus is evolving so that the immune system does not recognize it. McNeil said most people only have about 90 days of relative immunity after having the virus.

“In the evolution of the virus, there will come a time when your body has not seen this particular variant of the virus. If you have had COVID two years ago, you absolutely can get COVID now, and that is why the vaccines are changing as well because they have to keep up with that evolution,” McNeil said. “It is unfortunately not a silver bullet to have once. You most definitely can have it many, many, many times.”

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Montgomery County’s COVID-19 Rent Relief Program, which aims to provide short-term rental assistance to eligible households suffering from pandemic-related financial troubles, still has about $17.5 million to distribute from the $40 million total in awards, according to county officials.

A deadline of Jan. 13 for applications has been set for the program, according to Genevieve Kurtz, Montgomery County public information officer.

As of Jan 4, $92.8 million has been distributed to 11,905 households, according to the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services’ Pulse Report.

According to council officials, to qualify for funding, applicants must:

• have experienced COVID-19 financial hardship
• have a household gross income from either their 2020 or 2021 tax return or the previous 30 days that is at or below 50% of area median income
• have resided in Montgomery County since at least August 2021
• be behind on rent by at least two months

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Madagascar couple missing in Bethesda found after two days

A couple from Madagascar visiting family in Bethesda was located nearly two days after leaving their grandson’s soccer game and disappearing.

Maminirina Richard Randrianarison, a 68-year-old man, and Lalao Jeanne Ravohitra Rajaonarison, a 63-year-old woman, were found safe and unharmed, Montgomery County police said Monday. [NBC4 Washington]

Classroom COVID-19 outbreaks rising in Motgomery County public schools

Classroom outbreaks of COVID-19 are on the rise in Montgomery County public schools, according to a new advisory to parents, and health officials have an ask of parents. 

The county’s public health emergency preparedness director is calling on parents to get their kids and other family members boosted with the latest versions of the COVID-19 vaccine. [WUSA9]

Voter registration deadline looms for Marylanders

Maryland voters have until Tuesday to register to vote by mail or online.

Election officials remind that voters who register by mail must have their application postmarked by Tuesday. Voters can also still register on Election Day at a polling site. [WJLA]

Today’s weather: Mostly sunny with a high near 53.

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‘Dozens’ have applied for interim Planning Board seats, Albornoz says

Relying on self-funding, Trone outspent GOP opponent by 28-1 ratio in 3rd quarter

Passenger killed in two-vehicle collision in Germantown

The post Couple missing in Bethesda found appeared first on MoCo360.

While Montgomery County has lifted most pandemic restrictions and COVID-19 transmission continues to decline, local nursing homes, memory care facilities and independent living centers are continuing to enforce some coronavirus policies that limit visitors and activities to protect their vulnerable populations.

As of Tuesday in the county, there were 7.5 COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) data tracker. According to the CDC, a community is in the “low” category when there are fewer than 10 admissions per 100,000 residents and less than 10% of hospital inpatient beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients. As of Tuesday, the CDC was indicating that Montgomery County was in the “low” category.

Sean O’Donnell, the county’s public health emergency preparedness manager, said recently it’s important to keep in mind that the county has been seeing proportionally fewer outbreaks in smaller congregate care facilities.

“There’s fewer numbers of staff, there’s fewer individuals [in smaller facilities],” he said. “In some ways it’s a numbers game. In a much larger facility they might have more cases, but they have a lot more individuals as well. So you have to put it into context.”

O’Donnell said that in general it can be difficult to track a COVID-19 outbreak because the state totals include reported PCR test results and not rapid test results. Congregate care facilities, he noted, are held to stricter requirements than the general public when it comes to testing and vaccinations. A state health directive requires that the facilities report daily all positive COVID-19 test results for residents and staff members and their vaccination status on a weekly basis.

“There is a continued concern, and a continued focus on those higher-risk populations in the congregate settings,” O’Donnell said.

During the first year of the pandemic, nursing homes in the county experienced a high number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. At one point in December 2020, more than 3,200 cases of COVID-19 had been reported in nursing homes and other congregate facilities, which accounted for about 9% of the more than 36,000 total cases that had been reported in the county at the time. Additionally, nearly half of the county’s COVID-19-related deaths at that time were made up of residents in those facilities.

Despite the overall improved COVID-19 metrics in the county, and the fact that restrictions such as a mask mandate are no longer in effect, congregate care facilities have continued to maintain restrictions as COVID cases continue to occur among residents and staff.

At The Village of Rockville, a roughly 400-resident community offering assisted living, independent living, skilled nursing, memory and long-term care, visitors are allowed on a limited basis, ConnectedLiving Director Melissa Blackstone said recently.

“We do have to limit the number of visitors who can actually attend programming. But they come into the dining spaces, they visit common areas, they are very much involved with the residents,” she said.

At The Village at Rockville’s health center, family members could come into the facility and participate in programs such as social events and concerts before the pandemic, Blackstone said. As of this month, family members still cannot participate in programs at the center, she said.

Additionally, Blackstone noted that any time the facility holds an outing to a location in the area, that location must pass a screening process to ensure the residents’ safety. That includes taking steps such as making sure residents are seated in an area with proper social distancing and making sure everyone else at the event is vaccinated, she said.

“If we go to the Kennedy Center, or we go to a concert, we are asking questions to the vendor to make sure that our residents are safe,” she said.

Rebecca Lipscomb, a spokeswoman for National Lutheran Communities & Services, the umbrella organization for The Village at Rockville, said this month that residents have said they feel safer inside their community as opposed to the outside world, where many people are no longer taking precautions. It’s a comfort to residents to know that they can play cards with each other and attend movie nights with others that are fully vaccinated.

“Knowing that they can do those things safely with friends that are like-minded and equally protective of our safety, whereas in the outside public they don’t feel as safe,” she said. “Some people in the community assume ‘I don’t want to be in a community because they’ll lock me down and take away my freedoms.’ But the reverse has been true. Our residents have been freed to live more independently. They’ve been supported and engaged during the pandemic in a way that people living in isolation in the outside community have not been able to experience.”

Living with COVID-19 rules

Steve and Donna Edwards moved into the independent living portion of The Village at Rockville in April 2021. Steve said they weren’t too concerned about the safety protocols when they moved in.

“We had gotten to know the facility well enough, that we knew the people who were running it knew what they were doing. And we never really had any concerns,” he said.

Steve Edwards said when they moved in, some areas currently open were not open at the time, such as the aquatic center.

“Some activities were in delay mode because they didn’t have the people [to staff them], but also because of COVID,” he said.

Additionally, the dining room was not open to visitors when the couple moved in, but it is now, Donna Edwards said.

The Edwards said that when they participate in activities on campus, such as working out in the fitness center, many people wear masks. But that isn’t always the case at other social events, such as happy hour.

Steve Edwards said the residential community has an effective tracking system, in which residents self-report if they contract COVID-19. “Donna and I have had COVID. Many residents have had COVID. They have a tracking system here. The day I got it I made the call,” he said.

Steve Edwards added that the community’s executive director sends weekly updates that include the number of residents and staff who are vaccinated. More than 90% of both residents and staff are vaccinated, he said.

Following state guidance

Congregate care facilities in the county follow guidance provided by the Maryland Department of Health, which includes policies about topics such as vaccinations, testing, training for healthcare personnel and countermeasures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

At The Hebrew Home, a nursing home that is part of Charles E. Smith Life Communities in Rockville, visitors were not allowed into residences earlier in the pandemic, but now they are coming in, according to Brenda Rice, vice president of operations.

Rice said the facility is following the guidance of the CDC and the state health department. Staff conduct temperature checks at the welcome desks and also have COVID-19 test kits available, she said.

“If you have a temperature, we’ll stop you from coming in,” she said.

Rice said of the largescale group activities at Charles E. Smith’s various facilities remain scaled back.  

“If I have a musical band come in or something, there may have been 200 or 300 people in a room together, we no longer have those going on. We may have 50 people or so,” she said.

Independent and assisted living residents at Charles E. Smith also sometimes take bus trips to performances in the area, Rice said.

“They’re back out into the community, but are wearing masks on the bus. [We’re] making sure the bus is getting wiped down,” she said.

Rice said the mood is lighter in her community than it was at the beginning of the pandemic, but some staff members have a sense of burnout because the virus is still a threat and precautions are still necessary.

“There’s always been a higher expectation in healthcare. You’re taking care of your loved ones,” she said. “Every day you have to remember there’s still COVID here.” 

O’Donnell, the county’s public health emergency preparedness manager, said that even during periods when transmissions have gone up in congregate facilities, county officials are seeing fewer patients transported to hospitals.

“That is leading us to have some faith that the vaccinations, the control measures, are helping to curb some of those sorts of more serious outcomes,” he said. “We’re still trying to protect that most vulnerable group of people.”

Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@bethesdamagazine.com

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The bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration has come to Montgomery County. The county currently has about 1,100 doses of the bivalent booster vaccine, and officials are encouraging residents to make an appointment in advance if they want the vaccine. 

“The bivalent booster includes protection not only against the ancestral version of COVID, the original version of COVID, but against the Omicron variants, particularly BA.4 and B.A5 were incorporated into this booster. It offers a broader range of protections,” Sean O’Donnell, the county’s public health emergency preparedness manager, said during a media briefing Wednesday. 

Last week, the FDA amended the emergency use authorizations of the Moderna and  Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to authorize bivalent formulations of the vaccines for use as a single booster dose at least two months following primary or booster vaccination. 

The Moderna booster is authorized for ages 18 and up and the Pfizer booster is authorized for ages 12 and up. 

The bivalent vaccines, which contain two messenger RNA (mRNA) components of SARS-CoV-2 virus, one of the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the other one in common between the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. 

“[The FDA is] recommending that these are the best protections against COVID,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell said most current COVID-19 cases are considered to be the BA.4 or BA.5 variant, but case numbers overall are falling. 

“We’re really seeing a lot fewer cases … our hospital rates have come down, we’ve seen mostly a decrease in the ICU numbers. We’re still monitoring these of course, but we’re seeing less, less severe illness as well as fewer cases,” O’Donnell said. 

About 90% of the county’s residents are fully vaccinated. County data as of Aug. 20 showed that about two out of every 100,000 residents who died from COVID-19 were unvaccinated, while there were no deaths out of 100,000 residents among those that were fully vaccinated or boosted. 

O’Donnell said the county is requesting thousands more doses of the booster vaccine. 

The vaccine will be available through local pharmacies, primary and urgent care centers, and Department of Health and Human Services and partner clinics. More information is available and appointments can be made by visiting coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine.

The post Bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine available in Montgomery County appeared first on MoCo360.

The bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration has come to Montgomery County. The county currently has about 1,100 doses of the bivalent booster vaccine, and officials are encouraging residents to make an appointment in advance if they want the vaccine. 

“The bivalent booster includes protection not only against the ancestral version of COVID, the original version of COVID, but against the Omicron variants, particularly BA.4 and B.A5 were incorporated into this booster. It offers a broader range of protections,” Sean O’Donnell, the county’s public health emergency preparedness manager, said during a media briefing Wednesday. 

Last week, the FDA amended the emergency use authorizations of the Moderna and  Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to authorize bivalent formulations of the vaccines for use as a single booster dose at least two months following primary or booster vaccination. 

The Moderna booster is authorized for ages 18 and up and the Pfizer booster is authorized for ages 12 and up. 

The bivalent vaccines, which contain two messenger RNA (mRNA) components of SARS-CoV-2 virus, one of the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and the other one in common between the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. 

“[The FDA is] recommending that these are the best protections against COVID,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell said most current COVID-19 cases are considered to be the BA.4 or BA.5 variant, but case numbers overall are falling. 

“We’re really seeing a lot fewer cases … our hospital rates have come down, we’ve seen mostly a decrease in the ICU numbers. We’re still monitoring these of course, but we’re seeing less, less severe illness as well as fewer cases,” O’Donnell said. 

About 90% of the county’s residents are fully vaccinated. County data as of Aug. 20 showed that about two out of every 100,000 residents who died from COVID-19 were unvaccinated, while there were no deaths out of 100,000 residents among those that were fully vaccinated or boosted. 

O’Donnell said the county is requesting thousands more doses of the booster vaccine. 

The vaccine will be available through local pharmacies, primary and urgent care centers, and Department of Health and Human Services and partner clinics. More information is available and appointments can be made by visiting coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/vaccine.

The post Bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine available in Montgomery County appeared first on MoCo360.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at noon on Sept. 7, 2022, to provide more information about test and mask distribution sites.

While federal funding for COVID-19 tests and masks has waned, Montgomery County residents can still pick up these supplies at no cost. 

County residents can continue to pick up free COVID-19 rapid tests and N95 masks at the county’s public libraries. 

“There’s not an end date in sight for the foreseeable future,” Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday.

Anderson said this is because most library distribution sites have plenty of tests and masks still available. 

The federal government ended its giveaway of free at-home COVID-19 tests on Friday due to a lack of congressional funding for the program. The program began in January during a surge of the omicron variant. The government distributed an estimated 600 million tests. 

Anderson said if the county discontinues its distribution of tests and masks, DHHS will give advance notice before the products become unavailable. 

Tests and masks are typically available at all Montgomery County libraries except Noyes Library for Young Children in Kensington. Availability can vary by day, so visitors can check the library system website to see if supplies are available at a specific location.

The post Free COVID-19 tests, masks still available in Montgomery County despite end of federal program appeared first on MoCo360.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at noon on Sept. 7, 2022, to provide more information about test and mask distribution sites.

While federal funding for COVID-19 tests and masks has waned, Montgomery County residents can still pick up these supplies at no cost. 

County residents can continue to pick up free COVID-19 rapid tests and N95 masks at the county’s public libraries. 

“There’s not an end date in sight for the foreseeable future,” Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday.

Anderson said this is because most library distribution sites have plenty of tests and masks still available. 

The federal government ended its giveaway of free at-home COVID-19 tests on Friday due to a lack of congressional funding for the program. The program began in January during a surge of the omicron variant. The government distributed an estimated 600 million tests. 

Anderson said if the county discontinues its distribution of tests and masks, DHHS will give advance notice before the products become unavailable. 

Tests and masks are typically available at all Montgomery County libraries except Noyes Library for Young Children in Kensington. Availability can vary by day, so visitors can check the library system website to see if supplies are available at a specific location.

The post Free COVID-19 tests, masks still available in Montgomery County despite end of federal program appeared first on MoCo360.

In Montgomery County public education news, the 2022-23 school year is sure to be busy. 

This year, districts across the country are again faced with addressing the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ academic progress. In Montgomery County public schools, data have shown sharp decreases in achievement in key courses such as math and literacy, blamed in large part on an extended period of virtual classes in 2020 and 2021. Now, most students are back in the classroom (aside from some who applied to remain in MCPS’ full-time virtual school) and this year could be pivotal in their recovery, according to MCPS curriculum leaders. 

The important issues to follow this year include: 

Learning gaps 

Addressing the gaps in learning that students experienced during pandemic schooling will continue to be a priority, MCPS officials say. 

There are interventions that have been put in place — such as expanded tutoring and after-school opportunities — with federal coronavirus relief funds. 

The district this week pledged in a meeting with the school board to also track the effectiveness of the methods to ensure they’re reaching enough students, and the students who need them. 

There’s an emphasis on ensuring all students “have access to grade-level” material, rather than spending large amounts of time trying to catch up on content missed in past years, Chief Academic Officer Peggy Pugh said during a school board meeting this week. Teachers will be expected to focus on grade-level content and teach missed content (or refer students to tutoring and other interventions) as needed. 

Staffing 

It’s clear that MCPS will start this school year with hundreds of staff vacancies. That includes teachers, paraeducators, bus drivers, building services workers and others, all critical to schools’ success. How MCPS handles this issue — and any surges in absences and vacancies that may occur throughout the year — will be critical. Many of the unfilled positions deal directly with some of the district’s most vulnerable students, such as those in special education programs and those who are English language learners. These students were among the most affected academically during virtual learning, according to MCPS officials, and have, at times, gone without their normal services. 

On the Friday before teachers reported for preservice week, MCPS sent an urgent email, asking dual-certified teachers who were not assigned to a special education program to consider volunteering to be reassigned to a special education class. The goal was to offset the shortage in special education teachers; there were about 93 vacancies as of Tuesday morning. 

The message said the teachers union agreed to the request, which included a $5,000 “incentive” for teachers chosen for reassignment. But in a message to members that night, the union said it had not agreed and had actually denied the proposal. The two sides bargained on the issue over the weekend and into Wednesday. A new agreement was announced Wednesday afternoon, with the same incentive, plus additional pay for other special education teachers who take on additional work.

School safety 

MCPS will start this year with a new model of the former school resource officer (SRO) program. Last year, MCPS removed SROs from its high schools for the first time in nearly two decades. Officers were instead assigned to school clusters and patrolled areas around schools. Following a review of school safety procedures prompted by the January shooting at Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Derwood, in which one student shot and seriously injured another, MCPS again modified its relationship with police, allowing officers back into buildings, albeit in a limited capacity. 

The county’s community engagement officer (CEO) program replaced the SRO program at the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year. Under the SRO program, specially trained county police officers were stationed full time in high schools. The program was scrapped after criticism that it led to higher arrests among Black and Hispanic students and community calls for more emphasis on mental health resources than policing in schools. Proponents countered that the SRO program led to stronger relationships between police officers and the school communities.

In April, MCPS signed a memorandum of understanding with six law enforcement agencies in the county outlining the responsibilities for CEOs in the 2022-2023 academic year. The current agreement allows CEOs to occupy a space near the front office of a cluster’s high school. That’s a change from the prior version of the CEO program in which officers patrolled schools within a cluster, but couldn’t remain inside the buildings.

This year, both supporters and opponents of police officers in schools likely will be monitoring the new version of the program to see if it’s being implemented as intended and to determine its strengths and weaknesses. 

The district’s leadership 

Even though MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight has been leading the district since Jack Smith’s retirement in June 2021, first in an interim position until permanently assuming the role in July, she is starting her first school year as the official leader of MCPS.

McKnight took over at the height of the pandemic and faced related challenges — such as students’ academic regression, staffing challenges due to COVID-19 illnesses — and made difficult decisions about school closures and other health measures. 

Since assuming the permanent position, McKnight has said her focus is, in part, on rebuilding trust with the community through frequent, clear communication. She’s also said she’ll focus on supporting the mental health of students and staff members and “returning the district’s focus to equitable teaching and learning.” She’s experienced some turnover in the district’s top positions — from the transportation and special education departments to the technology and communications offices — and made new hires who are coming in at a key moment in the district’s pandemic recovery. With her focus on equity, McKnight said this week a report from an audit looking at MCPS’ “anti-racist” practices will be released in October. 

In the same vein, half of the school board’s eight seats are up for grabs in the November general election. Incumbents are running in three of the races, but Judy Docca did not run for reelection in District 1, so there’s at least one guaranteed new member. In the July 19 primary, challenger Julie Yang received more votes than incumbent Scott Joftus for the District 3 seat. (Joftus was appointed in 2021 to fill the remaining year of Pat O’Neill’s term, following her death in September.) And in District 5, incumbent Brenda Wolff was neck-and-neck with challenger Valerie Coll. Incumbent Karla Silvestre was well ahead of challengers in the at-large race. 

The races are nonpartisan and the top two vote-getters in each move on to the Nov. 8 general election. 

So, it’s possible to see some new faces on the school board, which plays a critical role in setting policies and priorities for the school district. 

COVID policies 

MCPS this year is largely moving away from the widespread COVID-19 mitigation measures that have been in place since school buildings reopened for in-person classes in 2021. That includes screening testing, test-to-stay, mandatory masking and quarantines for people who were exposed to the virus. Now, the district is relying on four key principles to guide its COVID-19 response: ensuring people are vaccinated and that they are washing their hands and staying home when sick, as well as promoting good respiratory etiquette (like coughing or sneezing into an elbow, away from others).

The changes will affect other district operations, such as students’ ability to attend in-person classes and staffing, but some education advocates fear loosening precautions could lead to more infections and more negative consequences.

The post Top education stories to watch this school year appeared first on MoCo360.

As students return to schools Aug. 29 for the start of the 2022-23 academic year, Montgomery County Public Schools will largely return to pre-pandemic procedures, keeping mask-wearing optional, ending some quarantine requirements and stopping COVID-19 screening testing. 

MCPS on Thursday announced its guidelines for the fall, which largely align with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The protocols were announced the same day the county’s transmission level again receded to the “low” classification, according to the county’s Department of Health and Human Services. 

The measure is based on the number of COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people over the past week, and the percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients in the past week. 

For several weeks, Montgomery County had been in the medium and high range, but dropped to “low” on Thursday, meaning there were fewer than 10 admissions per 100,000 people and the percentage of hospital beds used by COVID-19 patients was less than 10% over the past seven days. 

Here is a breakdown of MCPS guidance and answers to some common questions: 

Do students and staff members have to wear masks? 

No, but they can if they want to. The county school board this spring voted to end its districtwide mask mandate and it’s not coming back this fall. The district has said, however, that the decision could change if the transmission rate of the virus gets too high, and some classes or schools could be required to wear masks temporarily if there is a COVID-19 outbreak. 

Does the guidance explain how MCPS will determine if a mask mandate should be reinstated or schools might be shifted to virtual classes? 

The district’s reopening guide does not outline a specific datapoint that would trigger the reinstatement of a mask mandate. It says the decision could be made based on local transmission levels. The district says it will keep schools open unless ordered to close them by county or state health officials. Neither state nor local health departments have said specifically what might trigger such a move. 

What is the district’s quarantine protocol? 

Unlike previous years, close contacts of people who tested positive will not be asked to quarantine, regardless of their vaccination status. People who test positive, though, will still be asked to quarantine for five days following the onset of symptoms or the positive result, in alignment with guidance from the state Department of Health. They will be asked to wear a mask for five additional days following the quarantine period. If they can’t wear a mask, they will be asked to continue to quarantine through the 10th day. 

Who’s required to get the COVID-19 vaccination? 

Students are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend in-person classes, though getting vaccinated is encouraged. Staff members are required to provide proof of vaccination unless they have a documented medical or religious exemption. Those with an exemption must take and report the results of a weekly COVID-19 test. 

Will MCPS maintain its COVID-19 case dashboard? When will families be notified of a case or exposure?

MCPS spokesman Chris Cram wrote in a text message Friday that the district will continue to update its online dashboard that tracks the number of confirmed cases and quarantines at each school. Details about how often that would occur were not immediately available Friday or Monday.
MCPS is no longer conducting contact tracing, but says in its reopening guide it will notify staff and families of an exposure “if there is an identified case of COVID-19 in a high-risk cohort situation or local outbreak.” 

Will the district continue test-to-stay or random screening testing? 

No. Last year, MCPS asked students to opt in to screening testing for COVID-19, intended to identify asymptomatic cases. This year, the district will not conduct such testing, in alignment with CDC guidance. Rapid tests will still be available if a student shows symptoms of COVID-19 at school. 

When schools reopened full-time last fall, each was required to have an “isolation room” for students who tested positive for COVID-19 during the school day, where they waited to be picked up and taken home. Schools will not have isolation rooms this year. Instead, students will wear a mask and “physically distance themselves from others while waiting for prompt pick-up,” the guide says. 

Will there be any capacity limitations in classrooms, on buses or for athletic events? 

No. Because six feet of physical distancing is no longer required where possible, classrooms, MCPS transportation and athletics competitions will return to pre-pandemic capacities, according to the reopening guide. 

Will there be any extra precautions at meal times? 

MCPS says students will be able to eat breakfast and lunch in their school cafeterias as normal, but that schools are “encouraged to take advantage of outdoors spaces when possible so that students can eat in areas that pose a lower risk of virus transmission.” High schools can return to open-campus lunches, an option that was not allowed during the pandemic. 

Is MCPS still offering the Virtual Academy? 

Yes. The Virtual Academy remains an option this year for families with special health concerns or high school students with scheduling needs — such as the need to take extra courses or to work. MCPS had not responded to questions as of Friday afternoon about how many students are enrolled for the 2022-23 school year. 

The post Here are answers to common questions about MCPS COVID-19 plans for fall appeared first on MoCo360.