“Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself.”
–William Shakespeare
Honesty is always the best policy even if it isn’t the easiest. This past week I was faced with a COVID situation of my own. My daughter and I attended an event where someone in attendance later tested positive for COVID-19. I was informed of the potential exposure through a personal contact and asked how I wanted to move forward. I chose to be truthful even when that wasn’t the easiest choice. I admitted to my attendance at the event when I easily could have said, “Leave my name off of the list”.
At the event, my daughter and I followed the necessary protocols. Following the protocols and being honest is all any of us can do. More than likely, before all of this, is said and done, the majority of us will find ourselves in a similar situation. I found out about my possible exposure, even before the Health Department was aware and immediately acted. I reached out to my supervisors and the appropriate health care personnel and followed their directives.
I share all of this with you in hopes that you will do the same. If you are called, please be honest and answer all questions to the best of your ability. As Fall Break is upon us, I become more and more concerned about the potential exposure of our students when they are outside of the classroom. We have made it this far as a school system and have proven we can do this! To date, we have not had a single in-school transmission case documented in any of our OCS school buildings. That is truly a testament to our system and all those in it.
We cannot live our lives holed up in our homes. As Catholic Christians, we are called to evangelize and that’s awfully hard to do when you can’t leave your house. We must get back to a sense of normalcy, but it is our duty to our families, friends, and school community to do so in an appropriate and honest manner.
If you are planning to travel this Fall Break please make sure you consult the list/map of states that have a 15% or higher positivity rate. If you go to one of those states, you must quarantine for 14 days. Or, you may quarantine for 5 days and then take a COVID-19 test. Upon testing negative for COVID-19, you may then return to school and resume with our COVID-19 protocols of masking and social distancing.
None of this is ideal, but we all must do our part to keep each other safe. So, my plea to you is to just be honest. If your child has symptoms or a fever please don’t send them to school, if you or anyone in your household is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test, please don’t send your students to school, or if you travel to a hot state then please self-quarantine.
I appreciate all the support we have received so far this school year and I look forward to all the positive experiences the rest of the school year will bring.
God Bless,
Olivia Schilke, OCMS Principal
Travel Advisory:
Below is a list of the “hot zones” in the country for the coronavirus (above 15% positivity rate). If families choose to vacation in these spots, guidelines require a 14 quarantine or a 5 day quarantine with a negative coronavirus test.
(https://govstatus.egov.com/kycovid19).
Currently the state of Florida is not above a 15% positivity rate so we are not including it in the travel advisory state for the Diocese.
If you DO vacation in a zone currently under the 15% positivity rate, but that rate goes OVER the 15% positivity rate while you are there, it may warrant quarantine days or a COVID test, depending on the circumstances. We can’t provide more specific details at this time, but each situation will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
States currently listed in KY travel advisory.
South Dakota – 22.78%
Mississippi – 22.39%
Idaho – 21.90%
Wisconsin – 21.49%
Iowa – 17.19%
Missouri – 17.18%
Wyoming – 16.71%
Kansas – 15.51%