Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) announced changes to its COVID-19 rules on Thursday in response to new guidance from the California Department of Public Health.
“As COVID-19 has entered an endemic state, it is now similar to other respiratory viruses such as RSV and flu,” the LAUSD said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “Previous policies and isolation requirements were implemented during a pandemic when there was minimal immunity in the population.”
According to the new rules, staff and students with COVID-19 must stay home and isolate themselves if they are exhibiting symptoms. They can come out of isolation if they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication and are either free from other symptoms or have mild and improving symptoms. Previous guidance required anyone who tested positive to isolate for at least five days, regardless of whether symptoms were improving.
The school district also recommends those who test positive wear a “well-fitting, high-quality mask in all settings when around others,” for at least 10 days after the positive test. People can safely stop wearing masks in various social settings once they have received two negative COVID tests at least one day apart, according to the new guidelines.
LAUSD’s new guidance came less than two weeks after USC updated its rules to better align with the California Department of Public Health. However, the university does require students, faculty and staff to complete a contact tracing form, available in the MySHR portal, if they were on campus in the 48 hours prior to onset of symptoms or the date of positive test.
Both LAUSD and USC have said they would continue to align with public health recommendations while working to keep students, staff, and faculty safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19.