Denver Department of Public Health & Environment
Child Care and K-12 School COVID Response Team
August 9th, 2021
Dear Child Care and K-12 School Partners,
The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) thanks you for your partnership in ensuring the safety and well-being of your staff and students. We will continue using this platform to send out updates to this community. Please reach out to us with any questions you have or resource needs, however please do not respond directly to this email. Instructions on how to reach us can be found below.
Updates:
- Both CDC school guidance and CDPHE school guidance have been updated.
- The City and County of Denver has issued a new Public Health Order updating COVID-19 guidelines. Changes include that all city employees, as well as private-sector workers in high-risk settings, be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 30.
- This applies to schools, including post-secondary and higher education, and childcare centers.
- Personnel is defined as individuals who provide services onsite or in the field, as an employee, contractor or volunteer. This also applies to family childcare home providers (FCCH).
- To learn more about implementing vaccination requirements and other frequently asked questions visit "Employer Frequently Asked Questions" or you can contact 311.
- Masking
- Everyone age 2 and older must still wear masks on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation, including school buses, as required under a federal order for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. This requirement is in effect through at least September 13, 2021.
- Unvaccinated individuals 2 years and older are strongly encouraged to wear masks in all indoor public spaces
- All businesses, including schools & child care providers, may:
- Require masks in any setting, for anyone over the age of 2 years, regardless of an individual’s vaccination status.
- Require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for any individuals, including children 12 years and older who are currently eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Require COVID-19 vaccination for those 12 years and older.
- CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with layered prevention strategies in place.
- Mitigation Strategies:
- COVID-19 is a reportable condition in Colorado. Schools and child care providers must report cases to public health (per State statute §25-1-122, C.R.S. and Board of Health Rule 6 CCR 1009-1).
- Public Health is authorized to conduct investigations of reportable communicable diseases, including COVID-19.
- DDPHE strongly recommends following CDPHE's school and outbreak guidance to control the spread of COVID-19.
- Encouraging vaccination, promoting mask wearing and social distancing in unvaccinated individuals is strongly encouraged to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Other recommendations include improving ventilation, cohorting, and screening testing.
- CDPHE guidance summary
- Quarantine: Since >70% of eligible individuals have received one dose of vaccine, quarantine is not required for routine classroom exposures in Denver.
- What is considered a high-risk exposure and will close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 positive staff/student need to quarantine?
- Yes unvaccinated individuals with high-risk exposures should quarantine.
- High-risk exposures include but are not limited to:
- Indoor and or high contact athletic competitions
- Performing an aerosol-generating procedure
- Caring for a young child
- Forced exhalation activities indoors like singing, exercising.
- Individuals who are fully vaccinated, have a test confirmed infection in the past 90 days, have participated in surveillance testing at least one time in the previous week, or both parties were masked during time of exposure are exempt from quarantining in high-risk exposures. Please refer to who needs to quarantine document.
- CDC encourages vaccinated individuals to get tested 3-5 days after exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days after exposure or until they receive a negative test result.
How to Reach Us:
Please do not respond to this email directly. Report confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases by phone to 720-913-1311, or 311, or by email to: DDPHEOutbreak@denvergov.org
Thank you,
Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE)
Links to helpful resources:
For general questions about COVID-19: Call CO Help at (303) 389-1687 or 1-888-462-2911 or email COHELP@RMPDC.org
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