CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Beginning February 21st, CMS is revising its COVID protocols and will no longer be conducting contact tracing to identify close contacts of individuals known to have tested positive for COVID-19.
In an email sent out to parents on Friday, CMS outlined the changes to its current COVID protocols to be implemented by Monday, February 21st.
Officials say CMS will no longer conduct contact tracing to identify close contacts, quarantine or exclusion from school will apply only to students and staff who test positive, and they must quarantine for at least five days with declining symptoms before returning to school.
Close contacts or those potentially exposed to the virus will no longer be required to quarantine, even if they are exposed to someone in their household who has tested positive, according to a news release.
CMS will also continue to notify families and staff of potential exposures and clusters through its dashboard that includes positive cases at each school.
Officials say data regarding quarantines and close contacts will no longer be reported and the dashboard will now be updated multiple times each week as part of this revision.
Schools will also send out one notification to families in weeks when the school learns that a student or staff member has tested positive.
In addition to these school-wide notifications, athletics teams and other extracurricular clubs that have a defined roster of participants will be notified if an individual on the team or club tests positive.
CMS will also continue to offer testing at least through the end of the school year for students whose families have consented to the testing program.
Officials say the school system intends to encourage vaccination in the fight against COVID-19.
CMS team members who test positive will still be allowed to follow district procedures to qualify for contagious disease leave, but team members who are close contacts will no longer be eligible.
Team members experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 are asked to get tested, wear a mask, and may use their own leave to cover any sick time.
At this time, officials say the indoor mask mandate remains in effect for all CMS facilities and transportation.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education will consider modifications to this current policy during its meeting on Tuesday, February 22nd.
Officials say with Mecklenburg County ending its countywide mask mandate effective February 26th and Governor Cooper’s announcement recommending schools and local governments move to a mask optional policy by March 7, principals and staff are encouraged to prepare for the likelihood that masks soon become optional for students, staff and visitors.
