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ST. GEORGE — As Washington County schools prepare to reopen on Thursday, administrators say they are still expecting to make further modifications to their reopening plan in order to keep students, teachers and staff safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of the reason for the possible modifications is due to not yet knowing how the plan will actually work in real time, as well as a need to stay flexible as information and guidelines continues to change.
One of these recently changed set of guidelines is regarding how schools should respond when a student, teacher or staff member is exposed for at least 15 minutes to a person who tests positive for COVID-19.
Under the original guidelines, a student, teacher or staff member who was exposed to a person who tested positive for COVID-19 would be able to return to school as long as he or she was not exhibiting any symptoms related to the coronavirus.
But on Aug. 6, the Utah Department of Health and Gov. Gary Herbert made adjustments to the plan, recommending that anyone exposed for longer than 15 minutes should stay home for a 14-day quarantine regardless if they are experiencing any symptoms.
