Covid 19- Updates - March 15, 2022

Exemption from being a close contact for COVID-19 positive case returning from isolation

WA Health advice is that if a person tests positive from COVID-19 and completes isolation, that person cannot be classified as a close contact for 8 weeks following the date they finish isolation. If more than 8 weeks have passed since they finished isolation, they can be classified as a close contact as per the usual criteria.

Please remember to apply this information when referring to the table below.

Close contact definitions and testing and isolation protocols - Very high caseload for public schools

Under very high caseload, specific settings apply to schools. This includes the ability for some asymptomatic close contacts to return to school to work or study.

	Protocol
Students confirmed positive case	Isolate for a minimum of 7 full days; if symptoms still present, continue isolating until symptoms clear; or if no symptoms after Day 7, leave isolation. *No exit testing or clearance is required.
Students - Symptomatic close contact	​Quarantine for a full seven days either from the date of symptom onset or date of exposure to the case, whichever is later; and Take a PCR test or RAT within 24 hours of becoming a close contact: if positive – follow confirmed COVID-19 case guideline. if negative PCR, continue to quarantine. if negative RAT, continue to quarantine and take a repeat RAT in 24 hours o if RAT is positive – follow confirmed COVID-19 case guideline. o if RAT is negative – continue to quarantine. Take a PCR test on Day 6 or a RAT on Day 7: if positive – follow the confirmed COVID-19 case guideline. Note: all positive RATs must be reported to WA Health via www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/ratregister. if negative – and no new household members have tested positive - isolation ends after Day 7, and people should monitor for symptoms.
​Students – asymptomatic close contacts of a COVID-19 case outside the home Students that are asymptomatic household close contacts must stay in quarantine.	Continue attending school, if no symptoms. Students who are a close contact of a COVID-19 case outside the home can continue to attend school under a modified quarantine arrangement. Take a PCR test or a RAT within 24 hours of becoming a close contact: if positive – follow the confirmed COVID-19 case guideline. if negative - under modified quarantine arrangements students can attend: - school; - out of school care; and - sporting or cultural training, practice or events organised through the relevant school and held immediately before or after school on the student’s school grounds, travelling between the student's usual place of residence and the place where the activity above takes place. Note: at all other times students are required to isolate. Take a PCR test on Day 6 or a RAT on Day 7: if positive – follow confirmed positive case guidelines. All positive RATs must be reported to WA Health via www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/ratregister. if negative – no further action reis quired. You must return a negative Day 6 PCR test or Day 7 RAT and continue the modified quarantine arrangement until the end of Day 7. After this point, provided you have no symptoms and no one in your household has tested positive, you can leave isolation. Note: If symptoms develop at any time during your modified quarantine arrangements, take a RAT or PCR test as soon as possible. if PCR test is negative – continue to isolate. if RAT is negative – continue to isolate and take a repeat RAT 24 hours after your first RAT. If your PCR or first RAT after developing symptoms was on Day 7 of your isolation, you must continue to isolate until you are informed that the PCR is negative or until your second RAT is negative.
​Students - asymptomatic household close contact	Students who are close household contacts of a confirmed case are unable to attend school. They must quarantine for a full 7 days from the time of the positive case’s test; and take a PCR test or a RAT within 24 hours of becoming a close contact: if RAT is positive – follow the confirmed COVID-19 case guideline. All positive RATs must be reported to WA Health via www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/ratregister. if negative PCR or RAT, continue to quarantine. Take a PCR test on Day 6 or a RAT on Day 7: if positive – follow confirmed positive case guidelines. All positive RATs must be reported to WA Health via www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/ratregister.