Dear School District of Bloomer Families,

I’m writing to provide you with a number of updates related to the COVID-19 situation and our current status.

Current Status:  Since we’ve moved to remote learning we’ve been fortunate to have the majority of our staff members return from isolation, quarantine or caring for someone in quarantine/isolation.  Additionally, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of students who are currently in quarantine or isolation.  Accordingly, we remain on track to reopen our schools for face to face learning on January 4th, 2021.  We will continue to monitor the situation over the next two weeks and notify you of any changes in our status. 

The updated School District of Bloomer COVID-19 Dashboard can be accessed at https://www.bloomer.k12.wi.us/article/335075.

Notification of COVID-19 Quarantine/Isolation:  Please continue to notify your child’s school office if your child is placed on quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19.

Changes in Quarantine Duration: The Centers for Disease Control have revised their guidelines for the quarantine period of individuals who are close contacts to an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19.  Under the new guidelines the 14-day quarantine period can be reduced as follows:

Quarantine can end after day ten (10) if:

  • The quarantined individual has not developed any symptoms

Quarantine can end after day seven (7) if:

  • The quarantined individual has not developed any symptoms

and

  • The quarantined individual is tested for COVID-19 after day five (5) of quarantine and receives a negative test result

If symptoms develop at any time during the 14 days after exposure the individual will not be able to return until they have quarantined for 14 days and are symptom free.  Furthermore, these shortened quarantine durations may not be appropriate in all circumstances, accordingly, the Chippewa County Department of Public Health and School District of Bloomer reserve the right to require a full 14-day quarantine at their discretion.

Building Access and Co-Curricular Activities: Beginning Monday, December 14th, 2020, we will be allowing co-curricular activities to resume and reopening our gymnasiums for youth athletic teams to conduct practices.  Those using district facilities will be required to comply with all district health and safety protocols. School District of Bloomer Athletic Director, Mr. Jason Steinmetz, will be sharing additional information with impacted stakeholders via email in the coming days.

As always thank you for your ongoing support of the School District of Bloomer, our students and staff.

Sincerely,

Brian Misfeldt