The following information was emailed to Hopkinton schools families on Wednesday from superintendent Carol Cavanaugh.

The Hopkinton Public Schools want to remain open, so it’s important that all families follow these protocols:

1. If your child or anyone in your family has been in contact with a COVID-19 positive person, please keep your child HOME. Call your pediatrician as well as the Hopkinton Health Department 508-497-9725 for guidance.

2. When a child is determined to be  a “close contact” because that student has come in contact with a COVID-19 positive person in our schools, that “close contact”  must be quarantined for 14 days, even if the “close contact’s” PCR test comes back negative. “Close contacts” then lose in-person learning days for the duration of their quarantine.

3. We are sure COVID-19 cases are going to come into our town and inadvertently into our schools; therefore, we need everyone to work toward stopping the transmission of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, practicing good hand hygiene, staying socially distanced, staying home when sick, disinfecting, and covering coughs and sneezes.

4. In regard to siblings of those who are quarantined as “close contacts,” the following criteria must be met in order to return to school:
A. the “close contact” quarantined student must take a PCR test and be determined to be negative and be symptom free;
B. the “close contact” quarantined student must have a place within the household where that student can be isolated from all other household members;
C. only if  these criteria are met, may the sibling of the “close contact” quarantined student return to school.

5. If your child is unwell or shows any of the following symptoms, please keep your child home:

•  Fever of 100 degrees F or greater
• Chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

As we have all just experienced, the transition from hybrid to remote is very challenging. We are excited to welcome students back tomorrow. Let’s do our collective best to keep all of our students who wish to attend in the hybrid model IN OUR SCHOOLS.