The Ohio Department of Health recently released new guidance pertaining to COVID-19 contact tracing for school districts.  Our local Cuyahoga County Board of Health has also aligned with the new protocols.

Following is a summary of this latest guidance:

• NO LONGER REQUIRED.  This change represents a significant savings of time and effort on the part of our school buildings.Universal contact tracing conducted by school staff within the school environment is
• Each school building will still be required to submit to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health a cumulative case report for each week documenting positive cases reported to the school. Families should continue to report positive Covid-19 cases for students to your child’s school building.  
• The Cuyahoga County Board of Health will monitor weekly school building reports and initiate contact tracing related to any observed clusters of infection.  Specifically, if there are 3 or more cases within a 14 day period in a specific school setting, a cluster investigation will be initiated by CCBH. Schools are expected to assist CCBH with cluster investigations as determined and directed by CCBH.
• Schools will continue to follow the Ohio Department of Health’s “Mask to Stay, Test to Play” protocol.  This applies to students/staff who are identified as direct contacts of a positive case or contacts connected to an identified cluster outbreak. 

ODH / CCBH are still directing schools to inform families about positive COVID-19 cases in the schools. 

Following is how Olmsted Falls City Schools will be communicating about reported positive COVID cases moving forward:  

• In the absence of contact tracing and the targeted notifications that had accompanied those efforts, OFCS school buildings will return to sending general positive case notifications to advise families of confirmed positive cases of Covid-19 within their student’s classroom only. 
• Any notification beyond the classroom setting will be at the direction of the CCBH in conjunction with a cluster investigation.
• Additionally, OFCS will continue to update the OFCS Covid-19 Weekly Dashboard available on the district website to provide information about overall building and district positive case counts.

Important Reminders for Bulldog Families:

• Please continue to report positive Covid-19 cases for students to your child’s school building.  This allows our clinic staff to confirm specific return dates for each student per current quarantine guidelines.
• Please remember that the best way to stop the spread of any illness is to keep your child home if they are not feeling well.   
• As a reminder, Olmsted Falls City Schools returned to being mask optional at school on Monday, January 24th.  However, masks continue to be required on all district buses as the federal (CDC) mandate remains in place.

If you have any questions about these most recent updates / changes to COVID-19 protocols, please reach out to your student’s school building directly.  Thank you for your continued attention and support.