Happy Sunday,
Sorry to interrupt your weekend, but I know that a few of you have staff members who are currently out as we’ve had a number of employees who have been exposed to household or family members, or others who have tested positive for COVID-19.
The CDC has laid out scenarios and quarantine/isolation guidance (also attached) on when to quarantine/isolate employees who have been exposed to a confirmed positive, especially when the employee may have tested negative prior to the 14-day incubation period expiration.
At this time we will use the updated CDC guidance (July 7) for our return to work protocol – at least for non-public safety staff. (IDPH and Polk County have offered guidance in the past for first responders.)
The bottom line is that if an employee is exposed to someone with a positive COVID-19 test, that employee is to quarantine for 14 days following the last contact they had with the positive person – EVEN IF THE EMPLOYEE TESTS NEGATIVE PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF THE 14 DAY QUARANTINE PERIOD.
If an employee has had exposure with a contact/family or household member who is exhibiting symptoms but is waiting on a test or test results, the employee should remain at home until the test results have been received and then follow the appropriate CDC scenario guidelines.
Using the CDC guidance will help standardize how we return folks to work, set expectations for supervisors and employees on staffing impacts, and will offer employees information on how to handle positive members in their households. (For instance, there is a difference in return time if a household member quarantines away from other members vs caring for or sleeping with positive household members.)