ANS Incident Response Protocol

American Nicaraguan School
Incident Response Protocol

Following CDC guidelines, if a student or employee has a fever, shows symptoms or is suspect of
being Covid-19 positive, our response team will adhere to the CDC procedures:

• Isolate the student or employee, ensure that students are not left without adult
supervision, establish a plan to transport home.

• Notify staff and families immediately of any possible case of Covid-19 while maintaining
privacy and confidentiality

• Close off areas used by any sick person and do not use them until they have been
disinfected.

• Advise sick person not to return to campus until they have met the CDC criteria to
discontinue home isolation.

• Inform anyone exposed to a person diagnosed with Covid-19 to stay home and monitor
symptoms, and to follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop.

• As necessary, temporary school, division or section closure to allow for deep cleaning
and sanitizing of the entire building.

Confidentiality for each person’s health will be paramount in the incident response
protocol. While the school will ensure contact tracing and prevention, no staff will release
identifying details regarding student health, and families are encouraged to respect
confidentiality as respect for self and others.

In case of illness

Any student experiencing flu-like symptoms MUST NOT attend or attempt to attend school and
should isolate at home for 14 days along with any siblings and only return to school when
symptom free for 72 hours.

If any member of the household has symptoms of COVID-19 all members of the household
should quarantine for 14 days and return to school only after 72-hours without symptoms.

Students who show signs of illness or have a fever of 37.3C or higher will be immediately
isolated from others, parents called, and sent home immediately for 14-day quarantine.

If a student or member of the family is diagnosed or shows symptoms of COVID-19 the school
must be informed so we can take action, including contact tracing. The school will then inform
all persons the student came into contact to allow them to self-isolate for 14 days.

Any member of a household with a presumed COVID-19 case should isolate themselves from
the other members of the household as much as possible to avoid spreading the virus.

We recommend that all families are familiar with CDC Guidelines for anyone coming in contact
with persons identified as infected.

Students can return to campus 72 hours after they are no longer showing any symptoms of
illness, or any fever and are checked and cleared by school medical personnel.

Students must be fever free without the use of antipyretics (fever reducing medicines).

Please remind your children to follow the proper procedures associated with good hygiene:
• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water for at least 40 seconds
• Cough and sneeze into elbow if no tissue is available. Dispose of all used tissues
immediately.
• Wash hands or use sanitizer after sneezing or using tissue.

Often children want to come to school, even if they are not feeling well. Please use your best
parental judgment when assessing the health of your child. Missing a day of school to keep
others safe is more important than any work missed.

Please be sure all of your emergency contact information is updated with the school office.
If you have any questions, please contact the School Doctor.

In case of quarantine

Quarantine is a mitigation protocol to limit the spread of the virus. Direct contacts of COVID-19
presumed or confirmed cases must quarantine for 14 days, and 72 hours since their last
symptom.

As a mitigation protocol, quarantine may be implemented for a person, a family, a cohort, a
grade or a division.

To the extent possible, the escalation of quarantine would stop at 50% of the on-campus
population. If 50% of the on-campus population were required to quarantine, a high level of risk
would be indicated, and Distance Learning would be activated for the School Community.

Similarly, if 2% of the on-campus population were to have confirmed or presumed COVID-19
cases, a high level of risk would be indicated, and Distance Learning would be activated for the
School Community.

When a cohort or division is quarantined, to the extent possible, Distance Learning would be
activated.

When a student or family is quarantined or is self-isolating to monitor flu-like symptoms,
student retain access to all distance learning components that form part of the Hybrid

Model. These components include: asynchronous lessons and learning experiences, two-way
communication with the teacher and student (email, Learning Gallery, Google Classroom
comments), ongoing concurrent classes, distance-based classes (Wednesday courses in
Secondary School, Project-based Specials and Friday Forums in Primary School).

Absence due to quarantine is recorded as an excused absence from school.

CDC References
What to do if a Student Becomes Sick Flowchart
Full CDC Guidance for Schools on Contact Tracing
Video to Understand Prevention & Response
Schools & Child Care Programs: Plan, Prepare and Respond

From ANS Return to Campus Task Force Report: There will be stringent guidelines to follow and
protocols to adhere to without question for everyone’s safety and wellbeing. Failure to comply with
the protocols associated with the return to campus will not only result in the possibility of spreading
infection, but may also cause further delays or restrictions to campus entry.