LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: masking

  • New COVID Health Guidelines for Loveland Schools

    New COVID Health Guidelines for Loveland Schools

    COVID Health Guidelines Update Summary

     (effective 1/28/22, updated 5/9/22, 8/1/22, 8/14/22)

    Background:  On 8/12/22 new guidance for school came out from both the CDC and ODH (ODH memo 8/12/22 updated COVID guidance.  Here is the information that will help you here in LCSD:

    1. Positive cases
    • 5+5 (5 days of isolation followed by 5 days of masking) plan as outlined by CDC/ ODH (Ohio Dept of Health). This is calculated from the first day of symptoms or positive test which is considered day 0.  If a student is not ready to come back after 5 days (your child needs to be fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medications and symptoms improving), parents would call to tell attendance daily if their child is not ready to return.  These are considered non-absence days
    • Masking is not optional.  If you have been positive, you will need to mask for 5 days after being in isolation for 5 days.
    • There are no online learning links available.
    • Extracurriculars-  able to participate as long as able to mask.  Removing mask is not an option
    • District nurses (DN) make the follow up phone calls to parents once we are notified of a positive case.
    1. Close contacts/ exposures
    • Quarantine is no longer recommended for people who are exposed to COVID-19 except in certain high-risk congregate settings (not schools).  Instead of quarantining if you were exposed to COVID 19, it  is recommended that you wear a high quality mask for 10 days and get tested on day 5. For extracurriculars, they can mask as able to.
    • If your child has symptoms or develops symptoms, parents should keep them home and connect with their healthcare provider for further guidance and/ or covid testing. Testing on the same day as symptoms is now recommended.
    •  Parents should tell the attendance person the absence is covid related.
    1. If a student has a pending test and they have symptoms, we support keeping their child home until test results. If asymptomatic, they can be at school masked during that time
    2. We will no longer be monitoring vaccination status
    3. These days are excused absences, but we will continue to monitor

       3 . Testing

    • Any testing except antibody testing is acceptable.
    • Recommend testing day five per HCPH guidelines for exposures, but not required

    4.  Vaccines

    • We encourage everyone to talk to their health care provider for themselves and their children regarding getting vaccinated for COVID.  It is the best way to address COVID going forward.  Students over 5 are now eligible for the first booster vaccine

    LCSD will continue to focus on “The Bundle”-  handwashing, cleaning, distancing as needed/ able to, and masking when appropriate/ optional choice.  Our entire staff is committed to keeping our students safe and healthy.  We need your support by you doing the wellness checks daily with your child(ren) and keeping them home if they are sick.   Thanks for partnering with us- we can do anything together!!

  • This is not simply a desire of two parents; it’s an objective recommendation of healthcare professionals

    This is not simply a desire of two parents; it’s an objective recommendation of healthcare professionals

    The letter below was sent to the Principal of St. Columban School today. A similar letter was sent to Superintendent Broadwater and the Loveland School Board yesterday.

    Matt and Stefanie Laufersweiler have students enrolled in both school systems.

    Dear Mrs. Muchmore,

    I’m writing to urge you as you review plans for safely opening St. Columban School this year to not let the wants of parents steer you away from the objective guidance of healthcare professionals when putting measures in place to protect the health of our children. There are many who have expressed vocally their desire to return to school “unmasked” out of a desire to return to life as it was pre-COVID. However desirable this may seem, it does not consider the fact that case numbers are increasing and all counties in the area are now considered to be at the highest category for level of spread (https://www.cincinnati.com/…/covid-19-ohio…/5505300001/ ). In addition, with the Delta variant in particular, an increasing number of those infected are children (https://www.usatoday.com/…/covid-vaccines…/5532551001/ ) which has resulted in schools in other states having to move to remote learning very early in the school year due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

    Last year St. Columban did an excellent job ensuring that spread in school was minimal by enforcing masking and distancing policies following the guidelines of healthcare professionals before vaccines were available. As you consider and pray over the best way to open school this year, we ask that you keep in mind the current spread and the recommendations of healthcare professionals.

    To this point, the Ohio Department of Health released revised recommendations for schools K-12 on July 27th, and in doing so reference the current statistics and the effectiveness of measures used last school year to keep the children safe while ensuring they continue to get a quality education.

    Encouragement of vaccination for those eligible is also important; however, many children that will be in the school are not eligible for vaccination at this time. The key factor to help protect those children is universal masking while indoors, until those kids have the opportunity to be vaccinated and the spread of COVID-19 is back under control.

    It is also important to note that masking as a “personal choice” is ineffective in that the reason masks are effective is that they help to contain the spread from those who are unknowingly infected, preventing the aerosolization of the virus – they do little to help protect the individual wearer from already aerosolized virus (An evidence review of face masks against COVID-19 https://www.pnas.org/content/118/4/e2014564118 “Because many respiratory particles become smaller due to evaporation, we recommend increasing focus on a previously overlooked aspect of mask usage: mask wearing by infectious people (“source control”) with benefits at the population level, rather than only mask wearing by susceptible people, such as health care workers, with focus on individual outcomes.”).

    This is not simply a desire of a parent; it is the objective recommendation of healthcare professionals to protect the health of our children and ensure that they can remain in school and involved in the extracurricular activities that they love. It is the responsibility of the school and the community to help keep our kids safe, even if it means the measures required to do so are not always popular.

    Sincerely,

    Matt and Stefanie Laufersweiler

  • Video message from Loveland Superintendent about “Parent Choice” and masking/vaccination policy

    Video message from Loveland Superintendent about “Parent Choice” and masking/vaccination policy

    Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District issued this statement at 3:42 PM:

    Loveland Tiger Families,

    Please watch the following video message from Superintendent Mike Broadwater. It should answer many of your most important questions about back-to-school. Follow this link for the Ohio Department of Health Guidelines for Quarantine After Exposure in K-12 Classroom Settings.

    You may email the Loveland City Schools Board of Education through this link.

    You may email Superintendent Mike Broadwater through this link.Learn more about our Board of Education meeting schedule through this link.

  • Hamilton County Public Health responds to request for back to school info

    Hamilton County Public Health responds to request for back to school info

    “It is strongly recommended that schools implement masking.”

    Loveland, Ohio – When asked, this morning to provide Loveland Magazine with the current Board of Health guidance for covid 19 protocol for K-12 schools “Mike Samet, the Public Information Officer for Hamilton County Public Health responded, “We are following the Ohio Dept. of Health guidelines (attached) until we develop our own, if necessary.”

    The current Loveland school protocol reads in part, “…the Board will follow any mandates set forth by the Ohio Governor, Ohio State Health Department, Hamilton County Health Department, and Ohio Department of Education, (“Directing Entities”) as it relates to protecting the health of students, staff and visitors.”

    There will be no remote learning opportunities (Remote Academy) for Loveland teachers or students as all school buildings will return to full capacity in-person classes in August.

    Samet referred Loveland Magazine to the Ohio Dept. of Health (ODH) guidelines which are currently Hamilton County Health Department’s as well.

    The ODH guidelines begin with this opening introduction:

    As schools get ready for the 2021-22 academic year, the ongoing health and safety of students, staff, and volunteers remains paramount. While great strides have been made in controlling the spread of COVID-19, the virus remains a health threat. 

    Although children are less likely to get severely ill from COVID-19 compared with adults, they are at risk of being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, getting sick from COVID-19, spreading the virus to others, and having severe health outcomes. 

    Because children 11 and younger cannot be vaccinated and less than a third of children 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated, it is strongly recommended that schools implement masking for students layered with other prevention strategies to protect people who are not fully vaccinated. 

    The Delta variant is rapidly becoming dominant in Ohio. It is highly transmissible, increasing risk, especially for those who are unvaccinated. Because the Delta variant spreads so quickly, these strategies to reduce transmission in school are critically important to protect students, teachers, staff, and communities.

    As students head back to school, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) recommends following the same layered prevention strategies that were remarkably effective at controlling COVID-19 last school year: 

    Strongly recommend vaccinations for staff and eligible students. Vaccines are our best tool to protect students and prevent the spread of the virus. 

    Wearing masks. Masks have been proven to be extremely effective in slowing the spread of the virus. Ohio researchers conducted an evaluation last year that showed that masking helped control the spread of the virus in Ohio schools. ODH strongly recommends that those who are unvaccinated wear masks while in school. 

    Additional measures including improving ventilation, maximizing distance between people, and practicing good hygiene, among others. 

    Consistent implementation of these core prevention measures helped limit the spread of COVID-19 in the classroom during the 2020-21 academic year. Continuing to follow these recommendations will protect students as much as possible. 

    Below is the full ODH document: