Like all grand and successful human endeavors — settling the western frontier, developing a polio vaccine, flying to the moon — there are many adjustments and changes along the path to success. These are not failures. They are features of the journey.
Recently, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued its revised guidelines on quarantining. This will no doubt spur questions and confusion among school staff and families. It may help you to remind your school community that changing responses are unavoidable as researchers learn about this disease. Remember: It’s a feature, not a failure.
The CDC still recommends 14 days of quarantine. But, they are now proposing that alternative timelines can be based on local circumstance and local resources.
To that end, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is reviewing the CDC information and the research behind the proposed alternatives. DHS will make their own recommendations for our state. The Department of Public Instruction will change any current guidance based upon any new DHS recommendations.
Until that happens, the current recommendation of a 14 day quarantine is still in place.
