Covid-19

RELATED LINKS

COVID-19 Screening Tool for Bedford Families

Return to Learn and Continuity of Services Plan, Updated Feb. 2024

COVID-19 Test

Parent/Guardian COVID-19 Test Consent Form

COVID-19 INFORMATION LINKS

Monroe County Community COVID-19 Data

CDC COVID-19 Information

CDC Fact Sheets

MDHHS COVID-19 Information

MDHHS MI Safer Schools Guidance for Managing COVID-19 Exposures in K-12 School Settings

Michigan High School Athletics Association Coronavirus Updates

PREVENT THE SPREAD

Below is a helpful reminder of ways to help prevent the spread of the virus:
-- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
-- Practice elbow bumps instead of handshakes.
-- Stay home if you are sick and advise others to do the same.
-- Always cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue or sleeve.
-- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
-- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.|
-- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, if soap and warm water are not available.
-- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surface.

COVID-19 NOTIFICATION

HIPAA and FERPA laws require Bedford Public Schools to keep all medical information confidential. The Monroe County Health Department (MCHD) is the lead agency in COVID-19 related matters and will only disclose information on a need-to-know basis.

COVID-19 Updates

CURRENT UPDATES

Bedford Public Schools is no longer required to report COVID data. For information about COVID in our Community please use one of the following links. 

Monroe County Community COVID-19 Data

MDHSS COVID-19 Information

CDC COVID-19 Information

If you would like to view previously published data, you can find that on our COVID-19 INFORMATION ARCHIVE page.


BPS Updated COVID-19 Protocols AND GUIDANCE  

(EFFECTIVE MARCH 1st, 2024)

On March 1st, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) released updated guidance for individuals testing positive for Covid-19. Based upon the updated guidance, the increased effectiveness and availability of virus prevention and fighting medications, and the wealth of knowledge obtained by district leadership throughout the pandemic, BPS leadership have created the following BPS Protocols and Guidance Document. Please remember that as has been the case with all COVID-19 related information shared over the course of previous years, changes may need to be made whenever the health and safety of students and staff are impacted.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

-- If you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions
-- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
-- Get tested if you have symptoms

VACCINATION:

As we have done throughout the pandemic, BPS supports and strongly recommends that all individuals be vaccinated as soon as they are eligible. BPS has collaborated and hosted four separate vaccination clinics in the previous twenty-four months. As updated booster vaccines become available, the district will continue to share information with our community.

TESTING POSITIVE AND INDIVIDUALS WITH SYMPTOMS:

Bedford Public Schools will follow the updated CDC guidance which recommends that individuals who test positive for COVID-19 stay home and away from others until symptoms have improved and they've been fever-free for 24 hours without medication. For people with COVID-19 and influenza, treatment is available and can lessen symptoms and lower the risk of severe illness. The recommendations suggest returning to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, symptoms are improving overall, and if a fever was present, it has been gone without use of a fever-reducing medication. It is the responsibility of the parent(s) to contact their child’s Attendance/Health Room Office to report positive COVID-19 cases,as well as any other illness, for their student(s).

     Douglas Road Elementary: 734-850-6720
     Jackman Road Elementary: 734-850-6620
     Monroe Road Elementary: 734-850-6820
     Bedford Junior High School: 734-850-6210
     Bedford Senior High School: 734-850-6110

As part of the guidance, CDC provides active recommendations on core prevention steps and strategies:

  • Staying up to date with vaccination to protect people against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. This includes flu, COVID-19, and RSV if eligible.
  • Practicing good hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
  • Taking steps for cleaner air, such as bringing in more fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors.

FACIAL MASKS:

Bedford Public School does not require students, staff, and guests to wear a facial mask when inside of our district buildings or while utilizing district buses and transportation. Bedford Public Schools will continue to recommend that families and staff members act accordingly based upon their personal comfort level. District buildings will continue to make masks available for individuals who request them. The latest CDC Guidance recommends that individuals who are returning from a positive COVID-19 test after the 5-day isolation period wear a properly fitted facial mask on days 6-10. BPS also recommends this same practice for individuals returning from a 5-day isolation due to positive testing.

CONTACT TRACING AND EXPOSURE TO POSITIVE CASES:

Bedford Public School no longer conducts contact tracing for individual positive cases identified within the school setting. If an “outbreak” has occurred within a classroom or small setting, student families will be notified by the individual school building so that families can act accordingly based on individual needs. The district discontinued the use of a daily COVID-19 Dashboard last school year and will not be maintaining a dashboard moving forward. Individuals seeking to locate local case data can visit the MDHHS or the CDC data sites for additional information.

The CDC no longer recommends quarantining for individuals who are exposed to a positive case of COVID-19. However, the CDC recommends that individuals exposed to a positive case of COVID-19 wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and monitor for the development of symptoms. Additional recommendations can be found using the CDC and current MDHHS Guidance web pages.

AVAILABLE TESTING SERVICES:

Bedford Public Schools no longer has COVID-19 tests available for students or staff members. The state and federal government have made home testing kits available through several sites. Please visit the home pages for the CDC and  MDHHS to review the current options for available test kits. In addition, local pharmacies, family physicians, urgent care offices, and hospitals offer testing for individuals in need.

BPS DAILY MITIGATION STRATEGIES:

Bedford Public Schools continues to successfully implement many mitigation strategies during the 2022-2023 school year. These strategies will be continued throughout the remainder of the school year or until our district’s key data metrics indicate a change is appropriate.

-- All buildings within the district have now received updated HVAC units with improved ventilation thanks to the community approved 2018 district bond and supplemental federal COVID Relief Funds. The newly installed MERV 13 Air Filters provide additional contaminant filtering for improved classroom ventilation.
-- Daily classroom and building disinfection utilizing 360-degree electrostatic disinfectant sprayers
-- Daily scheduled hand washing break at the elementary level
-- Hand sanitizer stations in every district classroom and main area
-- Maximized classroom spaces by reducing non-essential classroom furniture and materials
-- Increased classroom supply of disinfectant wipes for hard surfaces
-- Increased number of water bottle filler stations across the district for hands-free water availability. District drinking fountains have now been turned back on for use with daily sanitizing schedules in place.
-- BPS is one of just a handful of districts within Southeastern Michigan to maintain our own school nurses as well as a dedicated health room in each school building. Our health room staff and nurses will continue the longstanding practice of isolating students when obvious physical symptoms exist such as severe or chronic coughing, fevers, chills, or gastrointestinal episodes. When this occurs, families will be notified immediately, and students will need to be picked-up from the building.

ATTENDANCE:

During the beginning months of the pandemic, schools in Michigan were given flexibility around meeting the normal attendance for students. The State of Michigan legislature adjusted the Michigan School Code to relax these attendance requirements anticipating student and staff quarantines, as well as periods of remote/virtual learning.

In a typical school year, however, state law requires that students attend school for a minimum of 180 school days AND a total of 1098 hours. Additionally, for an individual school day to count as one of the 180 school days, at least 75% of students must be in attendance. On any given day, if fewer than 75% of students are in attendance, that school day will need to be made up. For the 2022-2023 school year, these laws are back in place with zero option for flexibility regardless of whether attendance at school is pandemic-related. Therefore, the Bedford Public Schools Attendance Policy is once again in place for the current 2022-2023 school year.

POTENTIAL ALTERNATE LEARNING MODELS:

Bedford Public Schools believe that in-person learning is the best learning model for a large majority of our students. However, there are circumstances when individuals or families may elect to choose an alternate learning model such as our district’s available Bedford Virtual Academy (BVA) for Students in grades K-12. If you believe that your family would be best served utilizing an alternate learning program, please contact your child’s building principal for additional information.


PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED INFORMATION ON COVID AT BPS HAS BEEN MOVED TO A COVID-19 INFORMATION ARCHIVE PAGE


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