Westminster as a school has a responsibility to the St. Louis community and all of its students to keep us safe. So when it comes to Covid-19, the rules change, and they change fast. Sometimes it is very difficult to keep up with and sometimes it is just plain confusing to read. So here is the fast and easy information on what Westminster has to do in order to keep us in school. 

Take in mind that everything you find to be annoying is absolutely necessary in order for you to see your friends. The plexiglass divides that make you feel like you’re in a jail cell may not be mandatory for us to attend school, but they were highly suggested by the county and nationwide health organizations. But the masks are mandatory in order for the school to not just remain open, but also to keep everything in the community safe. 

So let’s talk about what happens when someone were to get COVID-19. Well, first thing is they need a positive test (obviously), but after that they have to report that to Westminster. Once Westminster hears of one student’s positive test, they instantly have to go in and contact traces every class the said student is in. What is contact tracing? Contact tracing is when a health administrator or school administrator has to go through where, what, how, this student may have gotten the virus’s. This is also used in order to prevent more people from getting the virus. So let’s say the said student gets the virus and in their first hour class they sit in the middle of the class. That would mean that the three people in front of the said student and the three people behind the said student and the two beside them said student are now all exposed. So in order to prevent more people from getting those eight students are now asked to quarantine. They are not asked by the school, but they are asked by the county health department. Westminster does not necessarily have the power to make anyone quarantine, but the county does. 

So let’s take this all in mind, essentially one person, who only goes to class and does nothing else before or after school, could at maximum make 56 other students be quarantined due to exposure (exposure meaning longer than a 15 minute time period) and at least 8 other students. So keeping masks on (other than snack time) and staying six feet without a plexiglass divider and no face mask is mandatory in keeping the school open and everyone as healthy as can be. If you would like to hear from the nurse and athlete director check the video above.