Oconee County School District Issued The Upcoming School Year’s COVID-19 Guidelines, Says Masks Are Optional

On Tuesday, the Oconee County School District issued the COVID-19 guidelines for the school years 2021-2022. According to the school system, wearing masks are optional in any SDOC school or event.

The following are the SDOC guidelines for COVID-19:

• Each school will maintain an isolation room for students who have symptoms of COVID-19. Students with 2 or more symptoms of the illness will remain in the isolation room until a parent/guardian arrives to take them home.
• At least 3 feet of distance between individuals  should be maintained to the greatest extent possible.
• Anyone testing positive for COVID-19 must notify their school nurse and isolate, at home, for a period of 10 days.
• If a student is identified as a close contact through contact tracing: If the individual is vaccinated, they will not be required to quarantine from school. If the individual is NOT vaccinated, a 10 day quarantine period will be required
• Any student identified as a close contact: Grades PIP-2nd: If three (3) or more students test positive within a classroom, the classroom will be placed in quarantine for 10 days.
• Grades 3rd – 12th: Anyone who has been within 3 feet of a COVID-19 case greater than 15 minutes within a 24 hour period must quarantine for 10 days. If those students can provide a negative PCR or antigen test at day seven (7), they may return to class.
• Cleaning & Disinfection – In general, cleaning once a day is usually enough to sufficiently remove potential virus that may be on surfaces. Disinfecting (using disinfectants on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency COVID-19 list) removes any remaining germs on surfaces, which further reduces any risk of spreading infection.
• Buses – Masks will be optional. Seating charts will be used on buses to aid contact tracing.

The above-mentioned guidelines are subject to change at any time in response to COVID-19 Pandemic amendments or legislative action.

Visit https://www.sdoc.org/covid19 for a complete list of the school system’s COVID-19 guidelines.