WCBD News 2

DHEC releases new COVID-19 quarantine guidelines for students

FILE

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control this week updated its COVID-19 quarantine guidelines for in-classroom exposure. New guidance outlines that if a student is symptom-free and was wearing a mask when exposed to an infected student, the exposed student will no longer need to quarantine.

To read DHEC’s new guidelines, click here.

Previously, exposed students labeled as close contact could only avoid quarantine if both they and the infected student were wearing a mask. Quarantine lasts for up to 10 days, but Greenville County Schools would allow for a shorter period if students received a PCR test.

“Whether or not that child needs to quarantine is no longer dependent on someone else, but it falls on that person and their child and their responsibility to wear a mask,” DHEC Director of Public Health Dr. Brandon Traxler said.

Greenville County Schools offers students free testing at certain locations. For more information, click here.