Travelers Plan To Quarantine, Test In Massachusetts After February Break
BOSTON (CBS) -- As February school vacation week comes to an end in Massachusetts, schools are taking extra coronavirus precautions to accommodate families who traveled. Travelers at Logan Airport on Sunday were busy heading home before school resumes.
Seven-year-old Mikey and four-year-old Talia just returned from Fort Myers Florida with their mother.
"We are going to get our COVID test this week. Hopefully, we get results quickly and he can return to his hybrid remote later this week. And she's in preschool and out for a week and half," said Deb Freedman of Sharon.
"We all do full remote learning, we both work remote from home so we will do a full 14-day quarantine when we get home to make sure we are all safe," said David Hercules.
Schools across the state are preparing for children to return to the classroom either in hybrid or full in-person learning. Many school districts, like Hanover and Concord, are requiring students and staff to get tested if they have traveled out of the state.
The families who spoke with WBZ-TV said they know there's a COVID-risk while traveling, that's why they are following all the protocols in place before they return to school.
"My kids had it last year, so we were exposed in the house. We are still following the rules but not worried about getting it," said Barbara Garside of Chatham.
"We will do our due diligence, so we are completely compliant with all rules," Hercules said.
"We are just following the Mass. Dept of Health guidelines so we can either quarantine for two weeks, get a negative covid test and with that, he can return to school," another mom added.
The state plans to expand its pooled-COVID testing program to more school districts this week. Gov. Charlie Baker said hundreds of schools have expressed interest in joining the program. Pooled-testing is where labs test up to 20 samples at once. Any group that comes back positive would lead to rapid tests for individuals in that group.
State officials have long said that regular testing is the best way to safely get students back into the classroom.