January 28, 2022 CDC Updates COVID-19 Guidance ECE/Child Care Program Operations On January 28, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated information for COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs. About The CDC’s updates include guidance to reflect new quarantine and isolation guidance and recommendations, specifying the circumstances when isolation and quarantine periods can be shortened, and updated guidance regarding staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Key takeaways and updates include: Isolation and quarantine periods can be reduced to five days for people who can consistently wear well-fitting masks, as long as they remain symptom free, or fever has ended and symptoms have improved. For details, see CDC’s page on Quarantine and Isolation. Layered COVID-19 prevention strategies remain critical to protect people, including children and staff, who are not up to date or eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, especially in areas of moderate-to-high community transmission levels. Promotion of vaccination among all eligible individuals can help Early Care and Education (ECE) programs protect staff and children in their care, as well as their families. Though these are not mandates, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) recommends that child care programs follow the CDC COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs.
January 13, 2022 COVID-19 Isolation Guidance for ECE/Child Care Programs The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is reminding ECE and child care programs that they should continue to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 recommendations regarding child care and early learning settings — particularly around isolation. CDC Guidance The change in isolation guidance issued by the CDC to decrease to five days was focused on the “general population,” where a greater number of individuals have the ability to become vaccinated. However, the CDC’s guidance child care and early learning settings continues to advise the following: “The length of time the child should stay out of an ECE program depends on whether the child has COVID-19 or another illness. In most instances, those who have COVID-19 can be around others after 10 days since symptoms first appeared and 24 hours with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving. Children who test positive for COVID-19 but do not have symptoms can be around others 10 days after their first positive COVID-19 test.” More Information The full current recommendations can be found on the CDC website.
