Dear TCGIS Community / Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft,
By now you should have received the message that we will return to in-person learning tomorrow, Tuesday, November 30, 2021. This decision was made after consultation today with members of the school team at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), including a public health laboratory representative and two epidemiologists, as well as a Covid response specialist from the Metropolitan Educational Cooperative Service Unit. Representatives from our testing provider Zepto Life Technology were also in the meeting.
Please note: MDH confirmed that students who tested positive on Tuesday, November 23 and their close contacts must follow all isolation or quarantine guidelines previously communicated by TCGIS.
We are aware that some families tested their students after Tuesday’s in-school testing and received negative PCR results. Today’s MDH epidemiologist and the medical experts we consulted over the weekend reiterated that it is not possible to “test out” of a positive PCR test result. A positive PCR test confirms Covid presence on the day of testing. MDH further explained that it is possible to test negative after a positive test, since viral loads can change if, for example, a case was mild to begin with and later undetectable, or if a student was recently vaccinated. However, an individual who has tested positive still needs to isolate per CDC and MDH guidelines to prevent possible transmission. Families who have any questions concerning this can contact the MDH Covid Hotline: 1 (833) 431-2053.
We know that it is difficult to understand the need for disruption to work or family plans when a child must be isolated or quarantined who shows no signs of illness. According to the CDC and MDH, many Covid-positive children are asymptomatic but are still able to spread the virus. Quarantines among our students protect not just our school but others in the broader community who might be less able to resist the virus.
Please know that without access to the MDH school team over the holiday weekend, we did the best we could to respond to the test results and to family concerns. The positivity rate data available today show that the results of the November 23rd testing at TCGIS are comparable or lower than the community rates. In other words, although it was alarming to us, MDH did not find the spike in cases or the overall percentage surprising, given what is occurring across the state. Moreover, despite the increase in numbers, we do not have evidence that the transmission occurred in school.
We are encouraged that vaccines are now available to children over age 5 and that our community is taking action, with 85% of our 7th and 8th graders fully vaccinated, and one hundred younger children having received their first dose at the recent TCGIS clinic, with many more having received them in community pharmacies or clinics. MDH reported that the vaccine’s efficacy is over 85% after the first dose.
The MDH laboratory representative and epidemiologists commended our in-school testing program and proactive mitigation strategies and urged us to continue. They also encouraged us to increase testing participation. MDH’s laboratory representative and Zepto Life Technology representatives discussed the testing procedures, lab audit, and positive cases in detail today, and MDH found no reason for concern with our testing provider.
The greater the number of students and staff we test, the greater our confidence can be that we are keeping our school environment as safe as possible. Testing is the best way to quickly identify early cases and reduce the likelihood that the virus will spread at school. It will allow us to make the most informed decision possible about the potential for classrooms, grades, or the whole school pivoting to distance learning. If you are not already signed up for testing, we ask you to strongly consider testing at TCGIS. Forms are here and here. We will accept new applications for tomorrow’s testing if sent in with students or emailed to Dani Nicholson at dnicholson@tcgis.org.
We will continue in-house testing and will monitor all positive cases reported by families and the state. (The state regularly confirms that our in-house lists match theirs.) We will assess any additional increase in cases on a regular basis to determine whether distance learning will be a necessary measure to keep our students, staff, and families safe. Please know that continuing safe, in-person learning is the goal of the entire TCGIS team.
Thank you for your partnership in education and safety.
Sincerely,
The TCGIS Incident Response Team
Kirsten Christensen, Executive Director
Ashley Weston Miller, Director of Operations and HR, Covid Coordinator
Monika Avery, Health Services Associate
Julie Alkatout, Chair, Board of Directors
Dani Nicholson, Covid Testing Coordinator
