Del. schools required to notify parents of COVID-19 exposure in school buildings

DELAWARE – Delaware schools will now be required to contact parents or guardians if someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was in a school building at the same time as students. The new rule comes from Delaware Governor John Carney’s 25th modification to the state of emergency.

The way that schools choose to notify families is up to them. But the Division of Public Health will work with schools on how they respond to reports of positive tests. In Seaford, school district officials say that they have a liaison that works with the division to ensure they’re notifying families quickly and efficiently. “We always rely on our community for communication and information. So we would absolutely appreciate that kind of knowledge. But it’s not the primary goal of this. Really, it’s that we have our own in house system. Again, the lynch pin there is our communication with the division of public health,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Sharon DiGirolamo.

The district says that if a person is reported to administrators or school nurses, they will then call the division of public health. An epidemiologist will then walk them through how to respond. “We have a kind of matrix that we follow so that if somebody calls with a question or they have a concern about prolonged exposure or a positive case in their family, they know exactly who to call. They call their school nurse. They call their administrator,” said Dr. DiGirolamo.

To read a full list of modifications to Delaware’s state of emergency, click here.