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Albert Lea Area Schools released more details Wednesday about changes in the district’s mask policy that will begin next week.

A press release stated the district continues to modify and adjust its preparedness plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to mitigate the potential for COVID transmission in the schools.

The following changes will take place Monday.

• Daily check-ins sent to staff and students will stop.

• Face coverings will be strongly recommended while in the school buildings.  

• Face coverings will still be required on school transportation per federal rules.

• Contact tracing will cease at the end of the school day on Friday, and the district will no longer provide general exposure notifications. Quarantine will no longer be required for K-12 students or staff who would have been identified as close contacts with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

• Elementary students and families will be notified if their child was exposed at school. It will be the parent/guardian’s decision to send their child back to school once notified of a close contact. Tests will continue to be provided to staff and families if interested.  

• Secondary students and families will be notified of lunch close contacts at school.  It will be the parent/guardian’s decision to send their child back to school once notified of a close contact. Tests will continue to be provided to staff and families if interested.

• The COVID-19 dashboard of district cases will stop being updated.

The district said it is making the changes because illness rates have begun to decrease after the increase in cases due to the omicron variant.

Vaccinations for children 5 and older have also been widely available since early November, and people have had ample opportunity to be up to date on all recommended vaccines.

Students and families may also seek individual protection that was not widely available until recently, such as higher-quality masks that can offer better individual protection in a mixed-mask environment and continued access to COVID-19 testing, the release stated. 

If a dramatic change in the public health situation occurs, the district will consider reactivating districtwide safety protocols, it stated.

Early Childhood and PreK Students

Early childhood and pre-K students’ families will still receive notification when there is a positive case in their student’s environment, and parents/guardians will make their own decision about sending their child back to school. Tests will be provided to staff and families if interested. 

Area Learning Center

ALC students and staff will continue to mask per Riverland protocols.

Students and staff who exhibit COVID-19-like symptoms should get tested. Rapid antigen test kits will continue to be available at each school office.

• Students or staff who test positive for COVID-19 will be required to isolate for five days from the date of the positive test result. Students or staff can return to school after day five with a negative rapid antigen test. The maximum isolation period is 10 days. Negative results can continue to be uploaded via the district’s COVID-19 page.
• Students and staff should continue to follow good hygiene practices, like washing their hands, covering their coughs and staying home when sick.