Interpreting the New CDC COVID Guidelines; Please Be Responsible-- Clean Up After Yourself In The Chalet

Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Dear MAST Families:
We have received a number of questions around recommended COVID exposure protocol. We have not received any guidance from MPS, but we are following CDC guidance. Below is a summary of recent guidance as interpreted by our resident infectious disease expert, Dimitri Drekonja M.D. Thank you Dr. Drekonja for taking the time to help us make sense of the new CDC guidance.
Based on various vaccination statuses, below is what you should do following a known exposure to someone with COVID (defined as being within 6-feet of someone for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period).
What should someone do who is fully vaccinated and boostered:
No need to quarantine, should mask for 10 days and a test on day 5 is recommended (PCR or antigen). 

What should someone do who is fully vaccinated but not boostered (if within 6 months of last mRNA shot, or 2 months of a JJ shot):
No need to quarantine, should mask for 10d and a test on day 5 is recommended (PCR or antigen). 

What should someone do who is fully vaccinated but not boostered (if more than 6 months from last mRNA shot, or 2 months from a JJ shot):
Quarantine for 5 days, mask for an additional five days, a test on day 5 is recommended (PCR or antigen). 

What should someone do who is not fully vaccinated:
Quarantine for 5 days, mask for an additional five days, a test on day 5 is recommended (PCR or antigen). 

What should someone do who is COVID positive but has not had any symptoms (tested because a family member or close contact tested positive)?
Isolate for 5 days, can return to activity after that with masking for another 5 days. Dr. Drekonja: "CDC does not say so, but I and most others in the Infectious Disease field would say a negative antigen test (not PCR) should be obtained if trying to isolate for less than 10 days."

What should someone do who was symptomatic, tested positive, but now is asymptomatic?
Isolate for 5 days, can return to activity after that with masking for another 5 days. 
Dr. Drekonja: "CDC does not say so, but I and most others in the ID field would say a negative antigen test (not PCR) should be obtained if trying to isolate for less than 10 days."

The main take aways:

• Those boosted are not needing to quarantine after exposure. 
• The return to normal activities after 5 days after a COVID case applies only IF you are without symptoms. 
• Anyone on quarantine who gets symptoms needs to test for COVID, and should also test at day 5 if becomes asymptomatic.

Some of you are currently in quarantine either because you tested positive or because you were exposed. Hopefully this summary of the latest CDC guidance is helpful for determining when you can safely return to practice.   

I want to encourage everyone to remain vigilant. Please wear your mask in the chalet and the shuttle. Wash your hands. Keep your distance from unmasked people in the chalet. As I looked around the chalet tonight after practice, the only folks I saw masking were the MAST athletes and coaches.  

One other chalet observation: people are slobs, don’t be one yourself. Look around the chalet and notice the trash left on tables by people who can’t muster enough energy to take their trash to a recycling or trash container. Notice how clean the chalet is when we arrive at 7:30 in the morning and how disgusting other skiers have made it when we arrive at 4:45 for the second practice. How shameful. No one should ever have to clean up someone else’s garbage. Please, clean up after yourself. I have no reason to suspect that our athletes are leaving a mess on any tables, so thank you and keep being responsible human beings. Do not be like everyone else. Everyone else is a slob.  

See you bright and early... actually, before the sun has even risen. 

Mark