COVID-19 case rates are currently on the rise in Ramsey County compared to previous weeks, but the Community Level (number of new COVID-19 cases compared to the population in Ramsey County and the number of hospitalizations due to COVID) remains LOW.

For your reference, the CDC looks at the combination of three metrics—new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days—to determine the COVID-19 community level. 

When cases are up in the community, case rates will go up in schools. Health and Wellness will continue to monitor cases and provide isolation guidelines where necessary. As a reminder, here are the isolation and quarantine guidelines for staff and students who test positive or have a household member who tests positive:

• SPPS staff isolate for 5 days and may return to work:
  • If no symptoms, no fever and/or symptoms resolving
  • Masking is recommended through day 10
  • Avoid others when unmasked through day 10 (i.e. lunch)
  • Immunocompromised or those with moderate to severe illness may need to isolate for 10 days or longer
• SPPS students isolate for 10 days and may return to school:
  • If no symptoms, no fever and/or symptoms resolving
• SPPS staff and students must quarantine for 10 days if someone in their household tests positive, unless they have completed a primary vaccine series or have tested positive in the past 90 days: 
  • Day 0 is the day symptoms began or the date of testing of positive household member, whichever is earlier
  • You cannot end quarantine early with a negative test

Please refer families to the COVID-19 Dashboard for case information by building. SPPS is not quarantining classrooms and is no longer conducting contact tracing. We will follow the masking resolution requiring masks with high community levels (not high cases). However, you may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others.

We ask educators to encourage frequent hand washing, identify symptoms early, and send ill children to the health office. Students and staff should stay home when sick.

All staff can participate in weekly testing on Tuesdays at SPPS testing locations. Schools will continue to share rapid test kits with families and staff who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.