Dear Parents/Guardians,
I wanted to make you aware that we were notified today that an individual at our school has tested positive for COVID-19. Due to the high positive case numbers in San Diego, we expect additional positive cases as the school year continues. Due to procedures related to privacy laws, I am limited in what I can say. I urge you to also respect the privacy of our students and staff. However, it is essential that we share what we can to ensure anyone that may have been in contact with the individual is aware of their potential exposure and can self-quarantine and monitor any illness.
Moving forward, we will not notify the entire school community of a positive case. We will always notify all close contacts as soon as we become aware.
A close contact is defined by the CDC as being within 6 feet of anyone who has COVID19, for a total of 15 minutes or more, over a 24-hour period.
Our school is working with the County of San Diego’s Public Health Services department to identify the students and adults who were in close contact with the person while they were contagious. We will notify each person identified in this process individually. If you are not contacted, it means that you were not identified as close contacts, and that your child can continue to attend classes in-person. Due to cohorting and extensive classroom seating charts, not all students in a class will be considered close contacts.
If your child is feeling ill or has a fever or symptoms of COVID-19, even if symptoms are very minor, please do not send your child to school and consider getting your ill child tested for COVID-19. Students should remain home until a return date is determined in consultation with school personnel based on test results and symptom improvement and following all applicable state and county health guidelines.
They can return immediately if they have a documented chronic illness that explains their current symptoms.
I know this information is concerning for our students and families. Ensuring the health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff members is of the utmost importance to us, and we will continue to follow all public health guidelines strictly.
For more information on Bella Mente’s COVID safety procedures, or to see Bella Mente’s COVID-19 Case Dashboard, please visit our website
If you have questions or concerns about this information, please contact the Bella COVID Team at covid@bellamentecharter.org or 760-621-8948. We thank you for your cooperation and support.
Sincerely,
Erin Feeley, Executive Director
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