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Parents of school-aged children in Florida will now get to decide whether or not to have their kids quarantine or go back to class after they have been exposed to someone withCOVID-19, as long as they are asymptomatic.
On Wednesday, Florida’s new surgeon general Joseph Ladapo — who was appointed into his role a day prior — ended a previous regulation that required students to quarantine off-campus for a minimum of four days if they were exposed to someone with the illness, according to theAssociated Press.
Should students and their parents feel that quarantining is necessary, however, they may do so, but for no longer than a total of seven days, given that they do not get sick, the AP reported.
“Quarantining healthy students is incredibly damaging for their educational advancement,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during anews conference. “It’s also disruptive for families. We are going to be following a symptoms-based approach.”
Currently, theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)recommends that unvaccinated individuals quarantine for a total of 14 days if they come within 6 feet of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
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People who are fully vaccinated, the CDC states, don’t need to quarantine after contact with someone with COVID-19 unless they have symptoms. Fully vaccinated people should still get tested 3 to 5 days after their exposure, however, according to the organization.
The CDC also currently recommends that students wear masks when they are indoors and they should also remain at least 3 feet in distance from one another while in classrooms. Mask-wearing has been a hot topic in Florida, with the Republican governor strongly opposing face coverings.
A large amount of school-aged children — those that are age 12 and under — are currently not eligible to receive any COVID-19 vaccine. That soon may change though after Pfizer/BioNTech said earlier this week that itsCOVID-19 vaccine is good to go for children ages 5 to 11after its own study. It now has plans to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies soon.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
