Anser Specific Covid Data:

Week of 09/20-09/26 as of today: Number of confirmed cases in students or staff: 5 

Week of 09/20-09/26 as of today: Number of students or staff in quarantine*:14

Staffing limitations due to Covid and/or quarantine: None
*Please remember that a student or staff person could be in quarantine for any number of reasons, including cold and allergy symptoms, while awaiting testing. Do not assume that a student or staff member who is absent or in quarantine should be interpreted as a “potential or probable” Covid case.
 
Wider Community Data

Cases of Covid in Ada county increased to  490.88 cases/100,000, up from 419.24 /100,000) last week.

·       Crisis Standards of Care have been expanded statewide

·       Idaho School Epidemiologists continue to monitor data and concur that schools that implement universal masking do not add to the level of community transmission.

·       The primary driver of increasing Covid cases is unvaccinated adults

 
The Covid Response Team reviewed this data at their meeting yesterday. Here are a few key points they would like to share:

• All cases of a student or staff person who have a confirmed case of Covid will be shared with the Anser community as a whole. Crew specific information will not be shared, to ensure the privacy of our students and staff.  The exception to this would be if there were many close contacts identified within one crew.
• If you child was considered to be a “close contact” you would be contacted directly by school staff.
• If you were not contacted, your child was not considered to be a close contact and no heightened concern is needed.
• A close contact continues to be defined by being within 6 feet, for more than 15 minutes of a person who has a confirmed case of Covid, even when all students were wearing masks.
• Cases of Covid will continue to happen in school. This will be a reality Anser and all schools will face all school year.  Ada county rates of  Covid are very high, and most instances of Covid in schools come from exposures in sports or in out of school exposures. This means most cases come to school, not happen at school.
• Acknowledging that cases will occur among students the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control continue to advocate for in-person learning for students because of the negative impacts that occur for children due to school closure.
• Anser’s mitigation measures exceed those in local schools including air scrubbers, high efficiency air filtration, humidifiers and air purifiers in every room,  eating  meals in a variety of locations across campus to reduce unmasked exposure, universal masking indoors, and masking outdoors when distance cannot be maintained.
• We are committed to prioritizing in-person learning, but will continue to monitor data within the school and outside of the school, and will make needed shifts to operational plans based on that data.
• If you have questions or concerns about Anser’s procedures or policies, please reach out to Heather Dennis and she can answer those questions or refer you to the Anser Board Covid Communications team.