Strict exposure rules send thousands of students back to distance learning in LA
Strict quarantine rules have confined thousands of LA County students to distance learning after exposure to COVID-19. Despite concerns that county health officials have gone overboard, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer says it would be premature to ease up amid the spread of the Delta variant.
In LA County, any “close contacts” of an infected individual are required to quarantine for 10 days after the last exposure unless fully vaccinated. This is stricter than state guidelines which allow exposed individuals to continue on-campus learning as long as both individuals were wearing masks at the time.
6,500 (1 in 70) students missed one or more days of school during the first week at LA Unified. Over half of those absences were due to exposure protocol.
Las Virgenes Unified Supt. Dan Stepenosky has complained about the practice. Of the 96 students in quarantine last Thursday, he said only four would be homebound under state rules.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
