PACCC's Plan for Mitigating the Spread of COVID-19

August 25, 2021

PACCC Community,

The health and safety of your children and family is at the forefront of our mission. PACCC’s COVID-19 policies and procedures have shown our capacity to maintain healthy and safe programs. Although we have had a few closures over the last year and a half, it is important to note, there has not been one transmission through PACCC centers. Now, with the Delta variant, we are renewing our commitment to your child’s safety. We are continuing what has worked in the past, while working with Santa Clara County Public Health and licensing agencies to implement all required guidelines.

Quarantining children who are identified as close contacts will happen as the Delta and other variants serge in our community. PACCC is working closely with Santa Clara County Health to limit the volume of quarantined children. With their support, we are updating our quarantine guidelines to try to limit impact to families.

It is important to point out the school districts and extracurricular activities, including licensed childcare, have different health and safety practices.

HEALTH & SAFETY PRACTICES	PAUSD	PACCC
Daily Health Check	Not Required	Daily Health Screen Required
Temperature Check	Not Required	Required on Daily Health Screen
Staff Vaccination	Vaccinated or Daily Test	PACCC requires vaccination or weekly testing, while licensing encourages vaccination
Masking	Effective August 23, Indoors and Outdoors	Indoors and Outdoors

Similar to PAUSD, some of the additional PACCC policies and procedures include, but are not limited to:

Frequent hand washing/sanitizing
Maintaining distance and smaller groups to avoid close contact identification as much as possible
Maximizing outdoor activities
Providing cross ventilation and air purifiers to maximize air flow where possible
Limiting visitor access to centers

School districts and extracurricular activities, including licensed childcare, also have different quarantine plans.

QUARANTINE PLANS*	PAUSD (Scenarios 2-4)	PACCC (Scenarios A-D)
Child is Symptomatic	If the child/youth is symptomatic (regardless of vaccination status), they will need to be tested for COVID-19 with a PCR test immediately, and be excluded from campus for 10 days if they test positive. A PCR test will be provided by the school site. They may not come back until they have a negative test result, or a certification that a medical evaluation was completed; an alternative explanation for symptoms; and a statement that COVID-19 testing is not indicated. They'll need to also be fever free for at least 24 hours with improvement in other symptoms.	If the child is symptomatic (regardless of vaccination status), they will need to be tested for COVID-19 with a PCR test immediately, and be quarantined from extracurricular activities, including licensed childcare, for 10 days. They may not return prior to the 10 days unless they have a negative test result or certification that a medical evaluation was completed; an alternative explanation for symptoms; and a statement that COVID-19 testing is not indicated. They'll also need to be fever-free for at least 24 hours with improvement in other symptoms.
Identified Close Contact and Siblings	If the child/youth is unvaccinated and has no symptoms, and both the COVID-19 positive person and exposed child/youth were wearing masks during exposure, the child/youth may remain on campus but needs to be excluded from extracurricular activities. The contact should get tested immediately with a PCR test provided by the site and test again on Day 5 after the exposure. If the test taken on or after Day 5 from last exposure is negative, student may resume extracurricular activities on Day 8.	If the child is identified as an official close contact* of a positive COVID-19 case, regardless of wearing a mask during exposure, the child will be quarantined from extracurricular activities, including licensed childcare. The child should get tested with a PCR test on Day 5 after the exposure and remain in quarantine until Day 10 for licensed childcare. If the test taken on or after Day 5 from last exposure is negative, child may resume licensed childcare after Day 10. *In most situations, all children in infant-toddler and preschool programs would be characterized as official close contacts.
Family or Household Member Tests Positive for COVID-19	If the child/youth is unvaccinated and has no symptoms, but is in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case in the home, the child/youth must wait until the isolation period ends for the positive case in the home and then begin a 10 quarantine. They will also be excluded from extracurricular activities. The contact should get tested with a PCR test provided by the site on Day 5 after the exposure. If negative and the test was earlier than 5 days after the last exposure to case, get them tested again towards the end of their quarantine period. If negative and the test was done 5 or more days from the last exposure to the case, no additional testing is needed. They must remain in quarantine for a full 10 days after the positive case completes their isolation period.	If the child has no symptoms, but is in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case in the household, the child must wait until the isolation period ends for the positive case and then begin a 10-day quarantine. They will also be excluded from extracurricular activities, including licensed childcare. The child should get tested with a PCR test on Day 5 after the exposure. They must remain in quarantine for another full 10 days after the positive case completes their isolation period.
Child Tests Positive for COVID -19	If a student or staff test positive, they will receive instructions to isolate for 10 days and at least 24 hours with no symptoms. Close contacts at school will be identified and notified with public health department instructions for testing and quarantine. A public health department "general advisory" letter may be provided. Close contact is defined by the California Department of Public Health as within 6 feet of a positive case for 15 minutes or more within a 24 hour period.	Immediately quarantine for 10 days. Child also needs to be fever-free for at least 24 hours with improvement in other symptoms to return to school and extracurricular activities, including licensed childcare.

* Quarantine plans were developed to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in PACCC centers and may change based on local, county or state regulations.

If we have a COVID-19 contact in a center, by suggestion of parents, we will immediately notify parents through both email and phone if their child is identified as an official close contact.

PACCC will continue to adhere to these layered precautions, but PACCC cannot do this alone. It is the responsibility of parents to protect all children from potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus. In the 2021-2022 Participation Agreement and COVID-19 Acknowledgement, Disclosure and Release, families agreed to the following:

I agree to complete the Daily Health Screening procedures and form that PACCC has in place prior to my child coming to PACCC.
I will immediately notify my center director if I or my child have tested positive for COVID-19, or if I become aware of any person with whom my child or I have had close contact, and has tested positive, is presumed positive for COVID-19, or is advised to self-isolate or quarantine.
I understand that if my child is exhibiting any combination of COVID-19 symptoms that cannot be explained by another reason, I must keep my child home and I must seek medical care for my child.

Our personal decisions impact the children in our community. Please maintain the highest levels of precautions in your daily lives. PACCC encourages staff and families to:

Remain masked in public and private settings where vaccination status or possible exposure is unknown
Get vaccinated if you qualify
Limit unmasked gatherings with people outside your immediate household
If traveling, follow all CDC guidelines
Keep your child at home if anyone in your household is showing signs of COVID-19 symptoms
Notify your center director immediately of any possible exposures

Our agency has been and continues to be a leader in how childcare responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. PACCC has been serving families under COVID-19 conditions since June 2020.

We thank you for joining us in this layered approach to maintain the safety of our PACCC Community and avoid quarantining our children from their afterschool activities.

In Community,

Lee Pfab

Executive Director

Palo Alto Community Child Care