To provide clarity, here is St Mary’s Manly current response to a variety of COVID scenarios that may potentially impact our school and community.
Possible Contact scenarios-
- A casual contact who is someone who has been near a person with infectious COVID-19 but who is at lower risk of getting COVID-19 than a close contact.
A casual contact should:
- get a COVID-19 test at their closest testing location, and isolate
- stay in isolation until they receive a negative test result
- monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested again at any time if they develop any symptoms. They will need to isolate until they receive a negative test result.
SCHOOL RESPONSE: No action required in school community
- A secondary close contact who is someone who:
- lives in the same house as a person who is a close contact of a person with COVID-19
- has spent significant time with the close contact during the last 3 days
- Please note, people or children they work with are not automatically considered secondary close contacts unless you know that they have been in significant close proximity to or have spent significant time indoors without masks with the close contact.
A secondary contact needs to get a COVID-19 test (even if they don’t have symptoms) and isolate at least until they and the close contact receive a negative result.
SCHOOL RESPONSE: No action required in school community. CSBB contact as record of the situation.
- A close contact who is someone who has been close to a person with infectious COVID-19 and might have become infected with the COVID-19 virus.
A close contact of a person with COVID-19 must isolate at home or another suitable place for 14 days since they were exposed. They must get tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible, even if they don’t have symptoms. Isolate means that they should be in a room away from other family or housemates. They cannot leave the residence unless for medical emergencies or other emergencies. Isolating means staying apart from all other people, including people who live in the same place as they do.
Close contacts must ask the following people to get tested and to isolate until they get a negative test result:
- Everyone they share their home with
- Everyone they have spent significant time with during the last 3 days. Students or staff at school at the same time DO NOT need to get tested unless they have been in significant close proximity to or have spent significant time indoors without masks with the close contact, or they experience symptoms or the staff members who were close contacts receives a positive test result.
SCHOOL RESPONSE: If the close contact is a staff member who as been on the school site during the last 3 days, the school must notify the school community advising them of the days and times the close contact was on the school site and advising them to monitor for symptoms.
If a parent or carer is identified as a close contact, all young children living with this close contact and who are unable to isolate separately from them, will also be required to isolate with them for the duration of their quarantine period (14 days from their exposure to a person with COVID-19) and complete further testing. School must be notified immediately.
SCHOOL RESPONSE: If the close contact is a parent or carer – contact the parent and or carer to inform them that children (who are unable to self-isolate) must remain in isolation with the close contact for the 14 day period and will only be able to return to school with evidence of a negative COVID test result. CSBB (Catholic Schools Broken Bay) to be informed.
- A confirmed case who is someone who has been found to have a novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
Confirmed cases must self-isolate in their home or another suitable place of residence until they are cleared to leave isolation by a designated medical practitioner.
They may be fined if they do not self-isolate under the Public Health Order.
If they do not comply with self-isolation, they can be made to go to a designated isolation facility
SCHOOL RESPONSE: The NSW Health officials will take over the management of this situation. It is likely that the school will close immediately to undergo contact tracing and a deep cleanse. CSBB informed. Parent community informed via Compass. If in school time, collection of students in Churchyard only.