After staying closed for way too long, schools and colleges were starting to reopen.
But this didn’t go well in Fairfax County where 100s of families had to place their children under quarantine.
In the wake of 100K+ cases nationwide, Fairfax County Public Schools has reported 160 confirmed cases over the last two weeks. The numbers include mostly students which have now become a matter of concern for many parents.
Hemang Nagar is one such parent whose daughter was quarantined after coming in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case within the school parameters.
Then on Tuesday evening, Nagar received an email from his daughter’s school explaining the matter at hand:
“when the Fairfax County Health Department has completed all contact tracing, FCPS will send out a final notification letting the school community know that the process has been completed.”
Recommended Read: Over 3000 COVID-19 Cases in LA County K-12 Schools, Officials Prepare for More
When he asked four about the return of her daughter, he was then told he’d get an answer about when his daughter could return within 48 hours.
However, with no answer from the school or health officials, Nagar said, “It has been 72 hours right now, and I do not have any idea if she’s going to school on Monday, Virtual learning floored his daughter last school year.”
Back in October, News4 interviewed the family in virtual learning and this is what the mother Chetna Nagar had to say, “She was so depressed and she was crying the whole time, and as a parent, you know, it tears us completely,”
Students that are presently under strict quarantine have an alternative open to finish their assignments online. However, as a parent Nagar said,
“This is not going to happen again,”
News4 reached out to the health department to ask about the wait time for contact tracing but hasn’t heard back.
FCPS said it doesn’t collect data on how many students are currently quarantined.
If the contact tracing determines close contacts were wearing masks, the students should be allowed to return within a few days.