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Quarantine and Testing Guidelines

Quarantine and Testing Guidelines

January 29, 2025

Individuals who have tested positive will stay home and away from others until:

  • Their symptoms are getting better overall for at least 24 hours.
  • They have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication) and symptoms of COVID-19 have resolved without the use of medications for at least 24 hours.

Individuals may resume normal activities with added precautions including a well-fitting mask that must to be worn an additional 5 days.

Someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 but has not developed symptoms, may still be contagious.  For the next 5 days, they should take added precautions such as increasing hand hygiene, wearing masks, practicing physical distancing and/or testing when they will be around other people indoors.

We encourage all students and staff to continue to follow the mitigation strategies outlined by Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) by: notifying the school nurse if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or for any communicable disease,  washing hands regularly, performing daily symptoms screening/monitoring before coming to school, staying home when symptomatic, and continuing social distancing.

COVID-19 Protocols

Our goal is to minimize disruption to learning and work environments while quickly quarantining those who present with the following COVID-19 symptoms while at school or at work:

  • Fever (100.4 degrees or higher)
  • Sore throat
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Diarrhea or vomiting
  • Severe headache
  • Loss of taste or smell

What is “close contact?”

  • Being 3 feet or less away for 15 or more minutes during a 24-hour period.
  • Being 6 feet or less away while eating or outdoors for 15 minutes or more during a 24-hour period.

How will students continue learning during quarantine?

  • Students who need to quarantine as a result of direct exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will continue to have access to Google Classroom or Canvas. 
  • If an entire class is quarantined, students would move to virtual learning taught by their regular instructor or a substitute educator. If the teacher is sick and another educator is not available, the class will have access to asynchronous (self-paced) instruction, such as videos, assignments, presentations and online texts, and other grade and content-specific online learning platforms. 

How are cases in PGCPS reported?