COVID

Dear Parents and Guardians,


We are pleased to share that the isolation and quarantine period for students and staff members sick with COVID-19 or considered a close contact has been reduced to five days.
Today, the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois State Board of Education and Grundy
County Health Department announced that the agencies have adopted CDC guidance for P-12
schools that halves the isolation and quarantine period. The Centers for Disease Control
updated its guidance for PreK - 12 schools on January 6th.  https://www.cdc.gov/coronaviru...

As a result, effective immediately, Morris Elementary School District 54 will implement the
updated guidance. We will contact staff, students and families who are currently impacted by a quarantine. Today’s announcement does not change the state of Illinois’ mask requirement for anyone inside school buildings. The Governor’s indoor mask mandate for school is still in effect until further notice. Staff and students who are currently impacted by a quarantine now have a revised return to school date. Please see the chart below to know when to send your child back to school. 

Unvaccinated students and not boosted staff members who are close contacts are now required to quarantine for 5 days. The following is a table with the revised return to school dates.  

In addition, I want to pass along information from IDPH and CDC related to quarantine and recommended isolation periods. Below is summary information.

What is quarantine?
Quarantine means staying home for at least 5 days after exposure to someone diagnosed with
COVID-19. This is because someone can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 but
may not show symptoms. Even though someone may not show symptoms, they can still spread
the virus.
Quarantine is different from isolation. Isolation is used by someone who has symptoms of
COVID-19, or tests positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, even if they don’t have
symptoms. Isolation helps prevent transmission of the virus by separating people infected with
the virus from those who are not infected.

Who needs to quarantine?
Students, teachers, and staff who came into close contact with someone with COVID-19 should quarantine for at least 5 days (day 0 through day 5) after their last close contact if they are in one of the following groups:
● People who are ages 18 and older and completed the primary series of recommended
vaccine, but have not received a recommended booster shot when eligible.
● People who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine (completing the
primary series) over 2 months ago and have not received a recommended booster shot.
● People who are not vaccinated or have not completed a primary vaccine series.

Who does NOT need quarantine?
Students, teachers, and staff who came into close contact with someone with COVID-19 and
are in one of the following groups do not need to quarantine:
● People who are ages 18 and older and have received all recommended vaccine doses,
including boosters and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people.
● People who are ages 5–17 years and completed the primary series of COVID-19
vaccines.
● People who had confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days (tested positive using a
viral test).


Everyone should wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days from the date of their last
close contact with someone with COVID-19 (the date of last close contact is considered day 0).
They should get tested at least 5 days after their last close contact with someone with
COVID-19, unless they had confirmed COVID-19 in the last 90 days and subsequently
recovered. For 10 days after their last exposure to someone with COVID-19, they should watch
for fever (100.4◦F or greater), cough, shortness of breath, or other COVID-19 symptoms. Those
who test positive or develop COVID-19 symptoms should isolate themselves from other people
and follow recommendations for isolation.


CDC continues to recommend indoor masking in K-12 schools for all individuals ages 2 years
and older, including students, teachers, staff, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status. The
school will ensure that there is a plan for people identified as close contacts to stay masked at
all times indoors until 10 full days after their last close contact to someone with COVID-19.
During times in the school day when students or staff members may typically remove masks
indoors (such as during lunches, snacks, band practice, etc.), we will have a plan for them to
adequately distance from others and ensure they wear their masks when not actively
participating in these activities (such as when they are not actively eating).


Thank you for your continued support of our students and teachers. It’s been an incredibly
difficult year, but we will continue to push forward together.

Dr. Shannon Dudek
Superintendent