DHEC Updates School Employee Quarantine Guidance

DHEC has updated the quarantine guidelines for school teachers and staff. With these new guidelines, Greenville County Schools employees who have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and who have no symptoms are allowed to work during quarantine, regardless of vaccination status, during crisis staffing conditions. DHEC requires that employees working through quarantine wear a mask for 10 days. DHEC stated this action is being taken to alleviate school staff shortages in communities with significant outbreaks and is in keeping with the latest understanding and analysis of the risks and benefits. 

We implemented this change immediately; however, there are several important things to note:

• This may be a temporary change based on DHEC’s definition of crisis staffing conditions.
• This change may not ensure a sufficient level of staffing to prevent the need to shift a school to eLearning. As previously communicated, we will make decisions about moving temporarily to eLearning due to COVID-related issues on a school-by-school basis, rather than district-wide.
• This does not change quarantine guidelines for students who have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. 
• This does not change isolation guidelines for students or employees if they test positive for COVID-19.