A Day After 880 Crown Point, Indiana Students Were Sent Home To Quarantine After COVID-19 Exposure, They've Been Asked To Return To School
CROWN POINT, Ind. (CBS) -- More than 800 students in Crown Point, Indiana were told to quarantine at home just Tuesday, but a day later, they're being told to come back.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, this was despite the fact that these students were all exposed to someone with COVID-19. So what is behind the latest move?
A week into the school year, Crown Point students were excited to be back.
"It felt like a normal year, finally," said Aleks Jovanoski.
But days into Jovanoski's junior year at Crown Point High School, he is a little confused by all the COVID-19 restrictions and changes.
"They started off with no masks, so we were kind of happy about that," he said, "but then, you know, out of nowhere, people were getting quarantined left and right – so then made us wear the masks."
The mask mandate came after the district sent home 880 students to quarantine. The students were told to isolate because they came into close contact with students who were known to have tested positive.
The Crown Point Community School Corporation said Tuesday that 55 people in the district had tested positive for COVID-19.
But less than 24 hours after the kids were sent home, there was a reversal.
"It was bound to happen," said Aleks' mother, Sylvana Jovanoski. "I think the school district has done pretty well with it. They're just going with the flow."
The Crown Point Community School Corporation pointed to a move by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb as the reason for the change. The executive said if the schoolchildren wear a mask in the classroom and someone tests positive, there is no need to quarantine any longer if the child shows no symptoms.
The mask mandate for Crown Point schools began Wednesday.
Ms. Jovanoski admits it's confusing.
"We went through it already; we were quarantined twice last year. We also had COVID," she said.
"So we're one of those that have been on both sides."
Aleks Jovanoski also plays on the football team, so it's hard to avoid contact on the field, But his mom said if she is told her son came into close contact, she likes the idea of him not missing classes for two weeks.
"The quarantine times, he never got it, so he could have actually spent that time in class," she said. "So I think as parents, it's our duty to go ahead and make sure they don't come up with symptoms. As soon as they do, then that's when you take action."
So on Thursday, all those students who were sent home will return, as long as they don't have symptoms.