Ohio schools no longer required to contact trace under new ODH guidance – WHIO TV 7 and

COLUMBUS — Under new guidance by the Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Schools are no longer required to perform universal contact tracing.

According to our news partners at WBNS, a memo sent to school superintendents and local health departments on Wednesday from ODH stated contact tracing, case investigation and exposure notification was impractical due to the quick spread of the Omicron variant.

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Schools are still expected to assist local health departments with contract tracing related to outbreaks or clusters in schools and should still follow ODH’s “Mask to Stay, Test to Play” protocol.

The protocol argues that quarantining students at home who have been exposed to COVID-19 has negative impacts on in-school learning and can be an added stressor for parents, schools and local health departments.

Instead, students who have been exposed and are asymptomatic should attend school while wearing a mask.

The new guidance from ODH also suggests that local health departments should shift to a cluster- or outbreak-based model, stating it priorities people in high-risk settings.

>> COVID-19 cases among children hits highest level since start of the pandemic

Schools should report positive cases to their local health departments weekly and are encouraged to do so every Friday.

The new schedule will begin on Friday Feb. 4.

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