Staff and students can now return to school faster after testing positive for COVID-19, starting Jan. 31.

Staff and students in kindergarten and up who test positive for COVID-19 can return to school if they are fever-free for 24 hours without using any fever-reducing medication. Their symptoms must also show signs of improvement, and they must wear a well-fitting mask while at school from days 6-10.

For students in Lyfe, 3-K, and pre-K, that isolation period stays at 10 days. They must be fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication

Now for students who are not vaccinated and have been exposed to COVID-19 outside of school, the quarantine time is now reduced to 5 days.

Students and staff who are exposed to COVID-19 at school do not need to quarantine and should use the at-home test kits provided by the school.

Turning to the mask mandate, the mandate is back on after a state appellate judge issued a stay Tuesday. This temporarily blocks a lower court ruling that found the mask mandate unconstitutional.