NYC public schools drop 5-day COVID isolation guidelines

New York City students who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer have to quarantine for five days, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention phased out the isolation policy earlier this month.

“Based on updated health guidance, instead of a minimum isolation period, people with COVID-19 should stay home and away from others based on their symptoms, similar to how they would for other respiratory infections, like flu and RSV,” read the guidance.

Children with symptoms should still get tested and “separate from others right away,” and return to school after at least 24 hours of no fever without medication and other symptoms are improving. The same guidance is provided to students with other illnesses.

Students who test positive without symptoms do not need to stay home, but should take steps to prevent spreading the virus. Those could include wearing a mask, keeping a distance from others and practicing good hygiene.

The policy, first reported by education news source Chalkbeat, was posted online more than two weeks after the CDC revised its COVID guidance to apply to a range of common respiratory viruses.

The isolation requirement was one of the last stringent COVID mitigation policies in local schools. Last year, Mayor Adams dropped the vaccine mandate for teachers and other city workers, and phased out a rule that parents and other school visitors show proof of vaccination.

Teachers and some staff can still use COVID days if they test positive for the virus, according to a memo to United Federation of Teachers members.

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