Frequently Asked Questions

Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is a new respiratory virus, not previously seen in humans. The severity of illness ranges from mild to severe, and is primarily spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, or a person comes in contact with a surface that has the virus on it and then touches their nose/mouth/eyes.

Symptoms include: Fever over 100℉ orally and/or chills, cough, shortness of breath and/or difficulty breathing, fatigue (in combination with other symptoms) , muscle or body aches, headache (in combination with other symptoms) , new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nasal congestion or runny nose (in combination to other symptoms ), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.

Yes. You must get a test that is an FDA EUA-approved molecular (PCR) SARS-coV2 test. A negative antigen test must be backed up by a negative PCR test within 2 days. If a student travels to a non-approved state he is required to distance learn 14 days after return to MA.

If your son is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please keep him home from school and contact your healthcare provider for further evaluation. If your son has symptoms that are suspicious of COVID-19, he should remain home until you receive the results of the test. If positive, the Needham Public Health Department and/or school nurse will follow up with more instructions.

If a student becomes ill at school with symptoms that are suspicious of COVID-19, the student will be brought to a designated isolation area/medical waiting room and will be assessed by the school nurse. If the nurse determines that the student has symptoms that are suspicious of COVID-19, the parent/guardian will be called for dismissal, and will be asked to pick their son up within 45 minutes. Instructions will be provided re: referral to their healthcare provider for testing, and the student will be asked to isolate at home until their test results are available. We will follow up according to the result. If a faculty member becomes ill at school, he/she will notify the health office and will be instructed to leave the building immediately and follow up with their healthcare provider for testing and further evaluation.

If a student is assessed and found to have symptoms that are suspicious of COVID-19, it is very important to have your son picked up in the 45-minute timeframe so that other students/faculty aren’t exposed, and potential spread can be contained.

If a case is diagnosed at school, contact tracing will be implemented to identify that individual's close contacts. Those close contacts will be notified, either by the Needham Public Health Department, or the school nurse, who will let them know that they have been identified as close contact. Close contacts will need to quarantine at home for 14 days, and will be asked to call their healthcare provider to be tested.

The Needham Public Health Department and/or school nurse will work with the individual who was diagnosed with COVID-19 to identify their close contacts, will do contact tracing and notify the families of those who were exposed. It is very important to answer the call so that we can minimize the spread of COVID-19.

The Needham Public Health Department and Needham’s Director of School Health Services will be in regular communication to exchange information on new cases. Jen Joyce will work in collaboration to contact families of those students who are identified as close contacts, and will provide those families with information on quarantine/testing guidelines.

Yes. Your son’s name will not be revealed if diagnosed with COVID-19. Close contacts will be notified and told that they have been exposed to someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and will be provided with information about quarantine and given further instructions. No personal identification will be given to others.

St. Sebastian’s School will follow the guidelines issued by the Needham Public Health Department. These guidelines are:

● Students/faculty who are identified as close contacts will need to remain home for 14 days and quarantine, and should call their healthcare provider to get tested.

● If the test is NEGATIVE, the student/faculty/family should monitor their health over those 14 days, and if symptoms develop, they should be tested, or retested (if already had a negative test). If all tests are negative, and the student or faculty member does not develop symptoms within those 14 days, we will follow up with them for return to school. Even if a close contact has a negative test in quarantine, they still need to remain home for 14 days during that period of incubation.

● If the student/faculty ends up testing POSITIVE, they become a confirmed case, and will need to isolate for 10 days AND be fever free for 24 hours AND have improvement of symptoms from the date of the positive test, or date of onset of symptoms. If the individual continues with a fever and/or symptoms beyond the 10 days, the period of isolation will continue until symptoms/fever resolve for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications. The Needham Public Health Department will follow up to determine when the period of isolation is concluded. (**PLEASE NOTE that these guidelines are subject to change according to updated data that we receive from CDC, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Needham Public Health Department).

*Please contact Jen Joyce in the health office with any additional questions or concerns.

Students should practice the following skills at home before the start of school:

• Mask application and removal
• Proper storage of their mask when not in use during a break and/or eating
• The importance of not touching their nose/mouth/eyes
• Proper disposal of their mask
• Hand washing
• Physical distancing
• Not to share food/drinks/cups
• Cough/sneeze hygiene

Face masks are an important measure to take to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and are effective, especially when used in combination with social distancing and proper hand washing. Some people are infected with COVID-19 and don’t have symptoms (asymptomatic); face masks help reduce the spread by containing the infected person’s respiratory droplets from traveling to other people.

There are no specific brands of face masks that are recommended; the important factors are to find face masks that fit your student properly (covering the nose and mouth), and are comfortable so that your son is more likely to keep it on. Cloth face masks should have multiple layers (2-3) for the best protection. Face masks that have an exhalation valve, gaiters and/or bandanas are prohibited.

No. Face shields alone do not provide the same level of protection, so a face mask must be worn in addition to the face shield.

Upon request our school can provide face shields and a reusable face mask to all teachers, as well as other types of PPE (such as gloves and gowns) for those staff in close physical contact with students. Parents are asked to provide face masks for students, although the health office will have a supply of extra replacement masks available for faculty and students in need.

All students in grades Preschool-12 are required to wear a face mask. If your son is unable to wear a face mask please contact Jen Joyce.

Please perform a symptom check on your son each day before he leaves for school. This includes taking a temperature, and checking to see if he has any of the COVID-19 symptoms listed above. If any symptoms and/or fever are noted, please keep your son home, notify Jen Joyce and your healthcare provider.