This page will provide resources and updates related to the Uintah School District's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Content on this page is subject to change due to new information or guidance from local, state and federal authorities and public health officials.

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On Jan. 13, 2022, Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson and State Superintendent of Schools Syndee Dickson sent a letter to all district superintendents announcing the suspension of the state-mandated test-to-stay program for all Utah schools.

The test-to-stay program, as outlined in Utah law, established the threshold for schoolwide COVID testing based on the number or percentage of positive student cases in relation to individual school populations. Utah leaders suspended the program due a statewide surge in COVID cases and a lack of testing supplies. They also provided district school boards with conditional and temporary authority to move their schools to remote learning for up to four days, if those schools met the test-to-stay threshold.

In a COVID-19 briefing on Jan. 14, Gov. Cox discouraged testing for most Utahns, except in certain high-risk cases. The governor stated that the virus is so prevalent in Utah right now that anybody who has symptoms should assume they are positive, and said that almost anybody who has spent any time in public settings over the past two weeks should assume they have been exposed.

These combined actions have made it virtually impossible for the district or its schools to accurately track positive student cases. If students and their families are not being tested based on the latest direction from the governor, most cases will likely go unreported and self-reported cases will be based purely on speculation.

In response to this change in direction at the state level, Uintah School District implemented a COVID-19 Contingency Plan on Jan. 19 in order to keep our schools safe and open for in-person learning. As part of the plan, the district is no longer monitoring, tracking or reporting positive COVID-19 cases for its students.

The full USD COVID-19 Contingency Plan can be found HERE.

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TriCounty Health Department (TCHD) has advised Uintah School District that TCHD will follow the plan created by the Utah Department of Health (UDOH), which can be found in its entirety at https://epi.health.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/COVID-19_plan.pdf.

The state of Utah has also updated its K-12 School Recommendations, which can be found at https://coronavirus.utah.gov/education/.

Based on state law and guidance from public health officials, Uintah School District has implemented the following plan.

Management of K-12 Staff/Students Exposed to COVID-19

Management of COVID-19 exposures in a K-12 school will be a locally-driven response. Local health departments should work in close coordination with local education agencies to determine how to respond to exposures in the school and prevent further spread of the virus.

Isolation 

If you test positive for COVID-19 you are required to:

● Stay at home for 5 days from the day you were tested, even if you don’t have symptoms or feel sick.

● You may return to school/work after 5 days if you are fever-free for at least 24 hours and your symptoms have improved. You must stay home for at least 5 days.

It is recommended to:

● Wear a mask around others for the 5 days after the time you were isolating in your home.

● Get a COVID-19 test before returning to your normal activities (work, school, etc.) to make sure you no longer are spreading the COVID-19 virus.

Isolation is required for all people who test positive for COVID-19 regardless of whether they are vaccinated or unvaccinated.

Quarantine

If you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19:

For people 18 years and older
If you got a booster dose OR got a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine within the last 6 months OR got a J&J vaccine within the last 2 months OR have tested positive for COVID within the last 180 days you don’t need to quarantine.

It is recommended that you wear a mask for 10 days after your exposure and get tested 5 days after you were exposed.

If you have not gotten a booster dose OR got a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine more than 6 months ago OR got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than 2 months ago OR if you are unvaccinated, it is recommended that you stay at home for 5 days from the day you were exposed to COVID-19.

For people younger than 18 years
If you have gotten two doses of Pfizer or Moderna OR have tested positive with COVID in the last 180 days, you don’t need to quarantine.

It is recommended that you wear a mask for 10 days after your exposure and get tested 5 days after you were exposed.

If you have not gotten two doses of Pfizer or Moderna OR if you are unvaccinated it is recommended that you stay at home for 5 days from the day you were exposed to COVID-19. You can leave your house after 5 days as long as you don’t have any symptoms. You can return to work and participate in activities outside of your house if you wear a mask. It is recommended to wear a mask for 10 days after your exposure.

If you can’t quarantine at home, it is recommended you wear a mask in public and around other people for the 10 days after your exposure.
It is recommended that students may attend school if they wear a mask for 10 days after their exposure.

Get tested 5 days after you were exposed.