HARTFORD — As Newtown's public schools were reconvening in full January 3, Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD updated state COVID-19 guidance for quarantine, isolation, testing, and contact tracing policies and procedures for Pre-K-12 schools.

The update came as The Hartford Courant reports Connecticut’s COVID-19 daily test positivity rate currently stands at 21.5%. Juthani reportedly announced the latest historical stat Monday morning at Stamford Hospital.

In related news, shortly after that state notification was received by The Newtown Bee, an expansion of COVID-19 boosters for youths was announced with the Food and Drug Administration allowing extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12.

Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and federal regulators on Monday decided they are also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds once enough time has passed since their previous dose. That move, coming as classes restart after the holidays, is not the final step, however.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide whether to recommend boosters for the younger teens. CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky is expected to rule later this week. The FDA also said everyone 12 and older who is eligible for a Pfizer booster can get one as early as five months after their most recent dose rather than six months.

FDA Vaccine Chief Dr Peter Marks said in a statement the agency made its decision because a booster “may help provide better protection against both the delta and omicron variants,” especially as omicron is “slightly more resistant” to the vaccine-induced antibodies that help fend off infection.

Children tend to suffer less serious illness from COVID-19 than adults. But child hospitalizations are rising during the omicron wave — most of them unvaccinated.

The latest guidance for Connecticut schools was developed in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education, and is based on the updated guidance that was released by the the CDC on December 27, the release states. The update outlines a set of optional policy and procedural changes that school districts may choose to implement at this time.

These options refocus the resources currently available to Pre-K-12 schools for COVID-19 prevention toward those activities most likely to reduce the risk of transmission and in consideration for quarantine and isolation for individuals testing positive for or exposed to someone with COVID-19.

Based on updated CDC guidance and the science supporting it, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) advises at this time that it is appropriate to allow school districts the choice to make changes in their operating rules regarding quarantine, isolation, testing, and return to in-school activities.

These suggested changes are designed to focus on the increased risk from individuals reporting for school related activities with active symptoms of illness and the decreased risk for and from individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

In brief:

*Individuals who are even mildly symptomatic with any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 should immediately isolate at home, test for the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), antigen, or self-test, and remain away from activities outside of the home until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are significantly improved.

*Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 should isolate at home for at least five days, or longer if symptoms develop and persist. A mask should continue to be worn for an additional five days at all times when around others.

*Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals who are notified that they have had a close contact with an individual who has confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should immediately quarantine at home and test for the virus five days after their last exposure to the COVID-19 case.

This is especially important in situations where extended high-intensity exposure may have occurred, such as with household contacts, in unmasked social settings (eg, sleepovers, parties), and/or during athletic activities, the release states.

The DPH outlined several different scenarios that may occur in school settings, considerations for each individual situation, and appropriate actions for individuals and schools to take in response.

For example:

If fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (defined as two weeks after second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or first dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine): student/staff with any COVID-19 symptoms is advised to isolate at home, test for COVID-19 (either self-test or at a testing site).

If test result is negative: return to activities when fever free for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are significantly improved.

If test result is positive: isolate for at least five days, return to activities on day six or later when fever-free for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are significantly improved.

Wear a mask at all times when around others for an additional five days (ie, through day ten).

Students and staff with no COVID-19 symptoms who are notified of a close contact with a COVID-19 case outside of the school day:

Continue with in-person learning and test for COVID-19 (either self test or at a testing site) five days after the exposure.

Consider quarantining for five days from other activities outside of school, especially if notified of an extended high intensity exposure (eg, household contact, unmasked social contact, contact during athletic activities).

Wear a mask at all times during any activities when around others for ten days.

Partially Vaxed?

If only partially vaccinated (one dose of a two dose COVID-19 vaccine or within two weeks of final dose) or unvaccinated, or vaccination status is unknown — and if notified of a close contact with a COVID-19 case outside of the school day:

Isolate at home for a minimum of five days since last exposure to the COVID-19 case.

Test for COVID-19 (either self-test or at a testing site).

Return to activities on day six or later when fever-free for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are significantly improved.

Wear a mask at all times during any activities when around others for an additional five days (ie, through day ten).

If no known close contact with a COVID-19 case outside of the school day:

Isolate at home and test for COVID-19 (either self-test or at a testing site).

If test result is negative: return to activities when fever-free for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are significantly improved.

If test result is positive: isolate for at least five days after symptoms began, return to activities on day six or later when fever-free for at least 24 hours and other symptoms are significantly improved, and wear a mask at all times during any activities when around others for an additional five days (ie, through day ten).

If notified of a close contact with a COVID-19 case outside of the school day:

Quarantine at home from school, extracurricular activities, and other activities for five days from the last exposure to the COVID-19 case.

Test for COVID-19 (either self-test or at a testing site) five days after the exposure.

Wear a mask at all times during any activities when around others for an additional five days (ie, through day ten).

Contact Tracing

Because individual-level contact tracing is a tool that becomes less effective when community transmission levels are high, the DPH recommends schools begin to refocus the activities of health staff away from the investigation of relatively low risk in-school exposures and toward the identification, early isolation, and clinical management of students and staff with active symptoms that could be related to COVID-19.

At this time given:

1) the current very high level of community transmission throughout our state;

2) the experience of Connecticut school districts that have conducted in-person learning throughout the past two years of the pandemic, even in the setting of very high community transmission;

3) the infrequent conversion of close contacts; and

4) the need to prioritize available resources in Pre-K-12 schools, the position of the DPH is that routine contact tracing of individual exposures that occur inside schools or during school-organized and supervised activities can be discontinued (subject to the conditions and provisions indicated below) without posing a significant increased risk of negative impact on in-school transmission of COVID-19 or access to in-person learning.

Several factors that influence this position include:

*Universal implementation of, and strict compliance with, robust mitigation strategies in all Pre-K-12 schools in this state.

*Infrequently identified person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 inside school buildings, especially in relation to other activities and environments children are engaging with outside of school.

*Very high numbers of student quarantine days based on individual contact tracing in schools compared to the very low number of school close contacts that become infected.

*Current delays in the receipt of test results due to high testing demand combined with new shortened isolation and quarantine times for individuals make it likely that many students would be outside of their quarantine period by the time contact tracing could be completed.

School districts that opt to discontinue individual-level contact tracing in their Pre-K-12 schools should ensure that they continue to:

*Enforce universal masking rules inside schools — including appropriate exemptions allowed for those individuals who cannot consistently and correctly wear a mask due to medical, developmental, or other appropriate reasons;

*Take steps to ensure that periods of unmasking inside the school (eg, meal periods) are as brief and as distanced as possible; and

*Appropriately notify staff and parents/guardians of students regarding positive cases occurring in the school population. Examples of appropriate notifications would include classroom-level notifications in lower grades (where classroom groups generally stay together for the duration of the school day), grade-level or “group-level” notifications at the middle grade levels, school-level notifications in high schools, and notifications to athletic teams, clubs, or other groups as appropriate.

This guidance reinforces the Department of Public Health’s three-pronged approach to fighting this virus: vaccination, masking and testing. These simple steps are crucial in decreasing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Associated Press content was used in this report.

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Editor John Voket can be reached at editor@thebee.com.