Template: Close Contact Notification Letter for Staff



Letter (English): Notification for staff that they have been identified as a close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 [Insert school/child care/youth program and date]Dear [insert name]:We are working with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to let you know that someone at [insert school/child care/youth program name] has tested positive for COVID-19, and that you had close contact with this person on [insert exposure date(s)]. [Schools to choose the quarantine option being implemented and remove those not being used][Option 1 (14 days)] As a close contact, the safest option is for you to stay home from [school/ child care/youth program name] and not take part in any activities/sports for 14 days, which is [insert end date of quarantine]. You can return on [insert date] as long as you do not develop symptoms during this time and other requirements for ending quarantine are met. See Close Contacts and Tracing (health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/close.html). Testing is recommended at least five days after the last time you were close to the person with COVID-19. If you get tested too soon, the test may not be able to detect the virus. However, testing does not shorten the quarantine period, even with a negative test result. Others living in your home can continue to go to child care, school, and other activities.[Option 2 (10 days)] As a close contact, you will need to stay home from [school/child care/youth program name] and not take part in any activities/sports for 10 days, which is [insert end date of quarantine]. You can return on [insert date] as long as you do not develop symptoms during this time and other requirements for ending quarantine are met. See Close Contacts and Tracing (health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/close.html). Testing is recommended at least five days after the last time you were close to the person with COVID-19. If you get tested too soon, the test may not be able to detect the virus.However, testing does not shorten the 10 day quarantine period, even with a negative test result. Others living in your home can continue to go to child care, school, and other activities.[Option 3 (7 days)] As a close contact, you will need to stay home from [school/child care youth program name] and not take part in any activities/sports for seven days, which is until [insert end date of quarantine] and you are required to have a negative PCR test that was taken on or after day five [insert date of test]. Test results must be known and must be negative to return. Quarantine can never be shorter than seven days. The earliest date you may return with a known negative test is insert date as long as you do not develop symptoms during this time and other requirements for ending quarantine are met. See Close Contacts and Tracing (health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/close.html). Others living in your home can continue to go to child care, school, and other activities.As a close contact, you must closely monitor for symptoms. If you have ANY symptoms from the list below you must not attend child care, school, or other activities and should isolate from others right away in the home and get tested. Refer to MDH: If You Are Sick (health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/sick.html) for more information.Fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higherNew cough or a cough that gets worse Difficulty/hard time breathingNew loss of taste or smellSore throatNasal congestion/stuffy or runny noseNausea, vomiting, or diarrheaMuscle pain Extreme fatigue/feeling very tiredSevere/very bad headacheChillsPlease contact your doctor or other health care provider about getting tested, or visit Find Testing Locations ().If your test result is negative during the quarantine period and you are experiencing symptoms of sickness, you still need to stay home until your symptoms are improved and you are fever free for 24 hours. People who have close contact with someone who has the virus may still get sick up to 14 days later. If your test result is positive, notify [insert designated school/child care/youth program staff and phone number] as soon as possible. Should this occur, you may need to stay home longer than 14 days. If you test positive, you can give the virus to others, even if you do not feel sick. You need to stay away from others for 10 days from the date your symptoms started, or from the date you were tested if you do not have symptoms, and until you feel better. These 10 days can begin anytime during the 14 days that you were already to stay home.If you develop symptoms or test positive, then everyone who lives with you needs to stay home for at least 14 days, starting on the day they can separate from you. If others cannot stay separated from you, they will need to stay home for 14 days (quarantine) when you finish staying home (isolation) for 10 days. After 10 days, it is thought that people are no longer able to spread the virus to others. This could mean staying home longer than 14 days.We are sorry for the problems this may cause you and your family. We want to keep children and staff in child care/school as much as we can, and as safely as we can. To stop outbreaks and keep child cares/schools open, we need to do everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19. We learn more all the time about how COVID-19 spreads. We now know the virus spreads easier when people share a small space, and the risk of spreading increases the longer people share that space. Face coverings help us protect each other, but they are just one way we can try to stop the spread of COVID-19. Keeping close contacts of someone with COVID-19 away from healthy people is another important way to stop the spread. Resources that you may find helpful:Close Contacts and Tracing: COVID-19 (health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/close.html)Quarantine Guidance for COVID-19 (health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/quarguide.pdf)What to Do if You Have Had Close Contact With a Person With COVID-19 (health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/contact.pdf) Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html) CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html) Resources related to employment concerns:Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights (agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave) Worker protections related to COVID-19 (dli.sites/default/files/pdf/MN_worker_protections_related_to_COVID_19.pdf)Minnesota Statutes section 144.4196 (revisor.statutes/cite/144.4196)Employers should be aware that Minnesota state law has employment protections for people in isolation and quarantine for public health purposes.If you have questions, contact [insert school/child care/youth program contact and contact information].Thank you for helping to keep our school community safe.[Insert school/child care/youth program representative sending letter] ................
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