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After much consideration and feedback, BENS is adopting our new test-to-stay policy for Camp BENS starting 6/21/22.

If there is a positive case in one of the classes, all children at Camp BENS must test for COVID-19 each morning before arriving at school for 5 days.

All children and staff in the class with the positive case will be required to wear masks outdoors and will not have indoor small group time.

The class with the positive case will have a modified schedule of 9:00 am - 1:00 pm to eliminate indoor, unmasked resting time.

If another child tests positive for COVID-19, the class will close and move to online learning for 5 days.

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What do I do if my child tests positive for COVID-19?

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What do I do if my child tests positive for COVID-19?

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If your child tests positive for COVID-19...

- Stay home: your child must quarantine for at least 5 days regardless of vaccination status
- After 5 days, your child may take an antigen test if they are asymptomatic or no longer have symptoms.

IF the test result is NEGATIVE at day 5 and your child no longer has symptoms, your child may return to BENS after 7 days.

IF the test is POSITIVE or your child continues to have symptoms, they must stay home and can end quarantine after 10 days.

Please report all test results to the BENS office as soon as they are ready.

IF, after 10 days your child still exhibits symptoms, we ask that you keep them home until they are well enough to return to school (regardless of a negative test result).

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Please use this resource to determine quarantine periods for COVID-19 positive individuals.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html#

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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When to Stay Home

Calculating Quarantine

The date of your exposure is considered day 0. Day 1 is the first full day after your last contact with a person who has had COVID-19. Stay home and away from other people for at least 5 days. Learn why CDC updated guidance for the general public.

Day 0 is your first day of symptoms or a positive viral test. Day 1 is the first full day after your symptoms developed or your test specimen was collected. If you have COVID-19 or have symptoms, isolate for at least 5 days.

Quarantine

Quarantine is a strategy used to prevent transmission of COVID-19 by keeping people who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 apart from others.

Who does not need to quarantine?

If you had close contact with someone with COVID-19 and you are in one of the following groups, you do not need to quarantine.

You are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines.

You had confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days (meaning you tested positive using a viral test).

If you are up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, you should wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days from the date of your last close contact with someone with COVID-19 (the date of last close contact is considered day 0). Get tested at least 5 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19. If you test positive or develop COVID-19 symptoms, isolate from other people and follow recommendations in the Isolation section below. If you tested positive for COVID-19 with a viral test within the previous 90 days and subsequently recovered and remain without COVID-19 symptoms, you do not need to quarantine or get tested after close contact. You should wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days from the date of your last close contact with someone with COVID-19 (the date of last close contact is considered day 0). If you have COVID-19 symptoms, get tested and isolate from other people and follow recommendations in the Isolation section below.

Who should quarantine?

If you come into close contact with someone with COVID-19, you should quarantine if you are not up to date on COVID-19 vaccines. This includes people who are not vaccinated.

What to do for quarantine

Stay home and away from other people for at least 5 days (day 0 through day 5) after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19. The date of your exposure is considered day 0. Wear a well-fitting mask when around others at home, if possible.

For 10 days after your last close contact with someone with COVID-19, watch for fever (100.4◦F or greater), cough, shortness of breath, or other COVID-19 symptoms.

If you develop symptoms, get tested immediately and isolate until you receive your test results. If you test positive, follow isolation recommendations.

If you do not develop symptoms, get tested at least 5 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19.

If you test negative, you can leave your home, but continue to wear a well-fitting mask when around others at home and in public until 10 days after your last close contact with someone with COVID-19.

If you test positive, you should isolate for at least 5 days from the date of your positive test (if you do not have symptoms). If you do develop COVID-19 symptoms, isolate for at least 5 days from the date your symptoms began (the date the symptoms started is day 0). Follow recommendations in the isolation section below.

If you are unable to get a test 5 days after last close contact with someone with COVID-19, you can leave your home after day 5 if you have been without COVID-19 symptoms throughout the 5-day period. Wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days after your date of last close contact when around others at home and in public.

Avoid people who are have weakened immune systems or are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, and nursing homes and other high-risk settings, until after at least 10 days.

If possible, stay away from people you live with, especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19, as well as others outside your home throughout the full 10 days after your last close contact with someone with COVID-19.

If you are unable to quarantine, you should wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days when around others at home and in public.

If you are unable to wear a mask when around others, you should continue to quarantine for 10 days. Avoid people who have weakened immune systems or are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, and nursing homes and other high-risk settings, until after at least 10 days.

See additional information about travel.

Do not go to places where you are unable to wear a mask, such as restaurants and some gyms, and avoid eating around others at home and at work until after 10 days after your last close contact with someone with COVID-19.

After quarantine

Watch for symptoms until 10 days after your last close contact with someone with COVID-19.

If you have symptoms, isolate immediately and get tested.

Quarantine in high-risk congregate settings

In certain congregate settings that have high risk of secondary transmission (such as correctional and detention facilities, homeless shelters, or cruise ships), CDC recommends a 10-day quarantine for residents, regardless of vaccination and booster status. During periods of critical staffing shortages, facilities may consider shortening the quarantine period for staff to ensure continuity of operations. Decisions to shorten quarantine in these settings should be made in consultation with state, local, tribal, or territorial health departments and should take into consideration the context and characteristics of the facility. CDC's setting-specific guidance provides additional recommendations for these settings.

Isolation

Isolation is used to separate people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 from those without COVID-19. People who are in isolation should stay home until it's safe for them to be around others. At home, anyone sick or infected should separate from others, or wear a well-fitting mask when they need to be around others. People in isolation should stay in a specific "sick room" or area and use a separate bathroom if available. Everyone who has presumed or confirmed COVID-19 should stay home and isolate from other people for at least 5 full days (day 0 is the first day of symptoms or the date of the day of the positive viral test for asymptomatic persons). They should wear a mask when around others at home and in public for an additional 5 days. People who are confirmed to have COVID-19 or are showing symptoms of COVID-19 need to isolate regardless of their vaccination status. This includes:

People who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms.

People with symptoms of COVID-19, including people who are awaiting test results or have not been tested. People with symptoms should isolate even if they do not know if they have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19.

What to do for isolation

Monitor your symptoms. If you have an emergency warning sign (including trouble breathing), seek emergency medical care immediately.

Stay in a separate room from other household members, if possible.

Use a separate bathroom, if possible.

Take steps to improve ventilation at home, if possible.

Avoid contact with other members of the household and pets.

Don't share personal household items, like cups, towels, and utensils.

Wear a well-fitting mask when you need to be around other people.

Learn more about what to do if you are sick and how to notify your contacts.

Ending isolation for people who had COVID-19 and had symptoms

If you had COVID-19 and had symptoms, isolate for at least 5 days. To calculate your 5-day isolation period, day 0 is your first day of symptoms. Day 1 is the first full day after your symptoms developed. You can leave isolation after 5 full days.

You can end isolation after 5 full days if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved (Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation​).

You should continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public for 5 additional days (day 6 through day 10) after the end of your 5-day isolation period. If you are unable to wear a mask when around others, you should continue to isolate for a full 10 days. Avoid people who have weakened immune systems or are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, and nursing homes and other high-risk settings, until after at least 10 days.

If you continue to have fever or your other symptoms have not improved after 5 days of isolation, you should wait to end your isolation until you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved. Continue to wear a well-fitting mask through day 10. Contact your healthcare provider if you have questions.

See additional information about travel.

Do not go to places where you are unable to wear a mask, such as restaurants and some gyms, and avoid eating around others at home and at work until a full 10 days after your first day of symptoms.

If an individual has access to a test and wants to test, the best approach is to use an antigen test ¹ towards the end of the 5-day isolation period. Collect the test sample only if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved (loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation). If your test result is positive, you should continue to isolate until day 10. If your test result is negative, you can end isolation, but continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public until day 10. Follow additional recommendations for masking and avoiding travel as described above.
As noted in the labeling for authorized over-the counter antigen tests:external icon Negative results should be treated as presumptive. Negative results do not rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for treatment or patient management decisions, including infection control decisions. To improve results, antigen tests should be used twice over a three-day period with at least 24 hours and no more than 48 hours between tests.
Note that these recommendations on ending isolation do not apply to people who are moderately ill or very sick from COVID-19 or have weakened immune systems. See section below for recommendations for when to end isolation for these groups.

Ending isolation for people who tested positive for COVID-19 but had no symptoms

If you test positive for COVID-19 and never develop symptoms, isolate for at least 5 days. Day 0 is the day of your positive viral test (based on the date you were tested) and day 1 is the first full day after the specimen was collected for your positive test. You can leave isolation after 5 full days.

If you continue to have no symptoms, you can end isolation after at least 5 days.

You should continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public until day 10 (day 6 through day 10). If you are unable to wear a mask when around others, you should continue to isolate for 10 days. Avoid people who have weakened immune systems or are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, and nursing homes and other high-risk settings, until after at least 10 days.

If you develop symptoms after testing positive, your 5-day isolation period should start over. Day 0 is your first day of symptoms. Follow the recommendations above for ending isolation for people who had COVID-19 and had symptoms.

See additional information about travel.

Do not go to places where you are unable to wear a mask, such as restaurants and some gyms, and avoid eating around others at home and at work until 10 days after the day of your positive test.

As noted in the labeling for authorized over-the counter antigen testsexternal icon external icon external icon : Negative results should be treated as presumptive. Negative results do not rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for treatment or patient management decisions, including infection control decisions. To improve results, antigen tests should be used twice over a three-day period with at least 24 hours and no more than 48 hours between tests.
If an individual has access to a test and wants to test, the best approach is to use an antigen test ¹ towards the end of the 5-day isolation period. If your test result is positive, you should continue to isolate until day 10. If your test result is positive, you can also choose to test daily and if your test result is negative, you can end isolation, but continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others at home and in public until day 10. Follow additional recommendations for masking and avoiding travel as described above.

Ending isolation for people who were moderately or very sick from COVID-19 or have a weakened immune system

People who are moderately ill from COVID-19 (experiencing symptoms that affect the lungs like shortness of breath or difficulty breathing) should isolate for 10 days and follow all other isolation precautions. To calculate your 10-day isolation period, day 0 is your first day of symptoms. Day 1 is the first full day after your symptoms developed. If you are unsure if your symptoms are moderate, talk to a healthcare provider for further guidance.

People who are very sick from COVID-19 (this means people who were hospitalized or required intensive care or ventilation support) and people who have weakened immune systems might need to isolate at home longer. They may also require testing with a viral test to determine when they can be around others. CDC recommends an isolation period of at least 10 and up to 20 days for people who were very sick from COVID-19 and for people with weakened immune systems. Consult with your healthcare provider about when you can resume being around other people. If you are unsure if your symptoms are severe or if you have a weakened immune system, talk to a healthcare provider for further guidance.

Isolation in high-risk congregate settings

In certain high-risk congregate settings that have high risk of secondary transmission and where it is not feasible to cohort people (such as correctional and detention facilities, homeless shelters, and cruise ships), CDC recommends a 10-day isolation period for residents. During periods of critical staffing shortages, facilities may consider shortening the isolation period for staff to ensure continuity of operations. Decisions to shorten isolation in these settings should be made in consultation with state, local, tribal, or territorial health departments and should take into consideration the context and characteristics of the facility. CDC's setting-specific guidance provides additional recommendations for these settings.

This CDC guidance is meant to supplement-not replace-any federal, state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations.

Recommendations for Specific Settings

These recommendations do not apply to healthcare professionals. For guidance specific to these settings, see

Additional setting-specific guidance and recommendations are available.

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The date of your exposure is considered day 0. Day 1 is the first full day after your last contact with a person who has had COVID-19. Stay home and away from other people for at least 5 days. Learn why CDC updated guidance for the general public.

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The CDC Recommends that all individuals returning from travel test upon return. Our travel policy has updated to reflect their guidelines and also take into account our population of both Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Individuals.

UNVACCINATED AND VACCINCATED INDIVIDUALS RETURNING FROM TRAVEL:

BENS friends may return to school immediately as long as they are symptom-free.

ALL BENS friends must take a COVID test immediately upon return, on day 3, and on day 5. We recommend a PCR test, but will accept an antigen test.

If you chose not to test your child, please keep them home for a 10 day quarantine.

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Here is the CDC Travel Guidelines for traveling. Please scroll down to "After Travel" to read their recommendations which guide our policy making.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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CDC travel recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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BENS accepts antigen tests, molecular tests and PCR tests. 

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BENS accepts antigen tests, molecular tests and PCR tests. 

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Your testing method depends on your reasons for testing!

In the event of an exposure, PCR testing is preferred as it is known to be the "gold standard" for testing in the medical field. Antigen tests are also accepted.

Once a student has tested positive for COVID-19, antigen tests should be used in order to return to school on day 7 (before the 10 day quarantine time has passed).

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EXPOSURE:

If your child has been exposed to COVID-19, they should get tested 5 days after the exposure with a PCR test.

POSITIVE TEST:

If your child tests positive with an antigen test, they should stay home and get tested with a PCR test as soon as possible.

Once they have a positive PCR test, BENS children can begin using an antigen test 5 days after their symptoms started or their positive test. They should NOT get another PCR test, as they might test positive on a PCR test for up to 90 days. Children may keep testing using an antigen test in order to end quarantine early, or not test and quarantine for the full 10 days.

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Below are links to the BENS Family Handbook and COVID-19 Addendum that was in place at the beginning of the year.

PLEASE NOTE: Policies on this padlet are up-to-date and may differ from the addendum's policies.

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1. Are all the BENS teachers vaccinated? Are they testing regularly? BENS teachers are all vaccinated and boosted. Tests are provided to the teachers weekly for them to administer at home on Sunday before work.

2. Will BENS begin testing the children on a regular basis? At this point in time, BENS does not have a plan to regularly test the children. If at any point a family needs a test, BENS will happily provide it for that family/child.

3. If a student has been exposed to someone with confirmed COVID-19, what is the policy for when they can return to school? Please see the "Close Contact" column for exposure protocols.

4. What if someone's sibling or parent is exposed to someone with confirmed COVID-19 or exhibits COVID-19 symptoms (runny nose, coughing, etc)? Does that affect the BENS student attendance at school? If the confirmed positive case does not live in your house, the BENS child does not need to quarantine. If the symptomatic person lives in your house, please test immediately and keep your BENS child home if the result is positive. See "Close Contact" section for more detail.

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Does the close contact live at your house?

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Does the close contact live at your house?

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If the person who tested positive is a member of your household, your BENS child must stay home while that family member continues to test positive. The BENS student should have a PCR test 5 days after their exposure and continue to get tested throughout the quarantine.

Once the affected family member has a negative antigen test after 5 days of symptom onset or positive test OR reaches day 10 of quarantine, the BENS student may return to school with a NEGATIVE antigen test result.

Please report all test results to the BENS office as soon as they are ready.

Please note: out of an abundance of caution, this is the BENS policy regardless of the child's vaccination status.

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Is the close contact outside of your household?

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Is the close contact outside of your household?

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If the person testing positive does not live with the BENS student AND the BENS student does not show any symptoms...

BENS students may return to school and must be tested 5 days after the exposure with either an antigen or PCR test. Test results must be reported to the BENS office as soon as they are ready.

If at any point the BENS student or anyone in their household exhibits symptoms, the BENS student must stay home and follow procedures outlined above.

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Children and Adult Masking during BENS hours: 3/11/2022

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Children and Adult Masking during BENS hours: 3/11/2022

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BENS has implemented a mask-optional policy for adults and children when outside.

Children and staff will still be required to wear masks when indoors, except for while sleeping and eating. Our teachers will also continue to be masked indoors. Our indoor mitigation strategies will remain the same:

Keeping doors and windows open at all times

Implementing physical distancing while eating and sleeping

Keeping our indoor classroom cohorts stable