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Cherokee schools allowed shorter COVID-19 quarantines

Cherokee County schools have been notified that the mandatory 14-day quarantine for children and staff after exposure to COVID-19 can be shortened to as few as seven days, if certain protocols are followed. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Cherokee County schools have been notified that the mandatory 14-day quarantine for children and staff after exposure to COVID-19 can be shortened to as few as seven days, if certain protocols are followed. (Dreamstime/TNS)
By David Ibata for the AJC
Dec 9, 2020

The Georgia Department of Public Health has given the Cherokee County School District permission to update its COVID-19 protocols to potentially reduce precautionary quarantine periods, Superintendent Brian V. Hightower said in his online newsletter for December.

The mandatory 14-day quarantine period, initiated by exposure to COVID-19, can be reduced to seven days if an individual is free of symptoms, tests negative for the coronavirus on or after the fifth day, and wears a mask and self-monitors for symptoms for 14 days.

To have the quarantine reduced to 10 days, one must be free of symptoms and wear a mask and self-monitor for 14 days.

“We know this is welcome news for the many families whose children have been mandated to stay home from school for a 14-day precautionary quarantine, some more than once, despite being healthy and never showing symptoms,” Hightower said. Information: https://bit.ly/2VPRJSG

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David Ibata for the AJC
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