The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School district changes COVID policy for close contacts

The policy went into effect on Nov. 29

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District staff and students identified as close contacts of someone who tests positive for COVID-19 may have the option to return to school immediately under new protocols implemented by the district last week.

Prior to Nov. 29, people identified as close contacts followed different protocols depending on whether or not they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or had been positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days.

If a student or staff member is identified as a close contact and wants to return to work or school, they must wear a face covering for 14 days, remain symptom free and have two negative COVID-19 test results, with the first test taken on the first day after being identified as a close contact or first day of return to school and the second test taken between days five and seven.

The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases across Alaska and on the Kenai Peninsula have declined. KPBSD’s COVID-19 dashboard shows the peninsula’s central, southern and eastern peninsula are all still at high risk level, with more than 3,600 students identified as close contacts since the school year began. As of Friday, 860 students had tested positive for COVID-19, as had 184 staff.

The new protocols similarly apply to student athletes, who must also continue daily symptom check protocols in order to continue participating in school-sponsored co-curricular activities.

Close contacts who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 should quarantine when not attending school or activities sponsored by the school district.

Close contacts are defined as anyone who spent a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more within 6 feet of someone who is COVID-positive over a 24-hour period. There’s a difference between a close contact and secondary contact — also known as a contact of a close contact. A person who lives with someone identified as a close contact does not need to change anything about their daily routine, but should monitor for symptoms of illness.

That applies to students who are identified as a close contact of someone who tests positive. The other people in that student’s household are secondary close contacts, and do not need to change their daily routines. Parents who have students at more than one school can continue to send their other kids to school if they are secondary contacts.

In a Nov. 24 letter to the KPBSD community explaining the change in protocol, KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland said less than 6% of close contacts at school led to additional cases of COVID-19. The changes also build on conversations about the existing policy and a review of what other school districts around the state and country are doing.

“We have had good success in the past two weeks piloting this process with nearly 100 students and staff in three schools,” Holland wrote in a Nov. 24 letter. “It will be important that we maintain integrity with our existing layered mitigation plans so that we limit the number of students and staff going through a close contact process.”

District administrators and members of the KPBSD Board of Education heard extensive testimony during the board’s Sept. 13 meeting from parents who felt that the district’s close contact protocols kept students out of school unnecessarily. Holland first floated the idea of allowing asymptomatic staff and students to return to school during a board work session in October.

KPBSD offers free COVID-19 tests at schools and is making available at-home tests that are free for staff and students. The district is also working with Soldotna Professional Pharmacy to offer free COVID testing off campus and is actively working to make the same opportunity available elsewhere on the Kenai Peninsula. COVID-19 tests administered by the school district require parental consent.

The district has emphasized a “layered” COVID mitigation strategy since the beginning of the school year that includes social distancing to the extent possible, bipolar ionization disinfection of air through buildings’ HVAC systems and a continuation of hygiene etiquette, such as frequent hand-washing.

When a student tests positive for COVID-19, that student will not be allowed to return to school until at least 10 days after the onset of their COVID-19 symptoms or after the date the student tested positive. To return to school, students must also be symptom-free for 24 hours without medication and be cleared by public health.

More information about KPBSD’s COVID-19 protocols can be found at covid19.kpbsd.org.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

The Kenai Peninsula College main entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Chiappone and Dunstan to speak at the KPC Showcase

Kenai Peninsula College continues its showcase with two new speakers this week and next

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, talks about issues of concern regarding the proposed merger of supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons during a floor speech in the House chamber on Wednesday. (Screenshot from official U.S. House of Representatives video feed)
Begich leads in early results, but Alaska’s U.S. House race won’t be immediately decided

About 245,000 ballots had been counted by 11:32 p.m., and Peltola trailed by about 5 percentage points

The Alaska governor’s mansion on Wednesday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is considered a contender for a post in Donald Trump’s second presidential administration. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Election summary: Trump wins, GOP takes over U.S. Senate, Alaska may get new governor

Begich and repeal of ranked choice voting narrowly lead; GOP may lose control of state House.

Nesbett Courthouse in downtown Anchorage on Oct. 7, 2024. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Voters line up at the polling site at Anchorage City Hall on Nov. 4, 2024. City Hall was one of the designated early voting sites in Alaska’s largest city. It is not a designated site for Election Day voting. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Republicans lose two seats in state House, increasing odds of leadership switch

Rural Alaska precincts had reported few results by 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Donald Trump won or was leading as of Wednesday morning in all seven swing states in the 2024 presidential election. (Doug Mills / The New York Times)
Donald Trump returns to power, ushering in new era of uncertainty

He played on fears of immigrants and economic worries to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris.

A voter is handed as ballot at Woodworth School in Dearborn, Mich., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. One of the most consequential presidential elections in the nation’s modern history is well underway, as voters flocked to churches, schools and community centers to shape the future of American democracy. (Nick Hagen/The New York Times)
Trump verges on victory, picking up Pennsylvania

Donald Trump has captured Pennsylvania, the biggest prize of the seven battleground… Continue reading

Signs and supporters line the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Unofficial results for the 2024 general election

Preliminary, unofficial election results as of 9:55 p.m.

Poll worker Carol Louthan helps voters submit ballots at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Bjorkman, Ruffridge, Elam and Vance lead in election night results

Several residents said that they came out to vote because they knew this election was “a big one.”

Most Read