Lake Pointe has developed various protocols for operation of academics and activities.
Lake Pointe is not a medical agency, nor is it equipped or licensed to provide medical advice.
Rather, Lake Pointe is an educational ministry, seeking to interpret medical guidelines for its staff and constituents. In all cases, individuals should refer to various government agencies for up-to-the-moment recommendations, and to their trusted medical providers for advice and direction.
Procedures have been developed both prayerfully and by seeking input from various healthcare specialists and agencies, including the CDC, DHEC, SC DHEC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and local and state agencies. Other protocols may be added, as necessary or as helpful, to support effective campus operation. The protocols are a compromise between changing health /safety recommendations, reasonable operation,and valued human interaction.
Helpful to note, especially when considering general guidance to "schools," is that, as a University Model School, LPA operates each week on an alternating day attendance schedule.
For current information and operating guidance, please click here:
The goal of all our distancing, PPE, cleaning, & other efforts is to preserve the on-campus, in-person instruction for which Lake Pointe is known
Covid policies and procedures details
Let each of you look not only to his own interests,
but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4 ESV
January 12, 2022
Surely, all of us thought Covid would have been a distant memory by now, like the Swine Flu and Asian Bird Flu from years ago. Yet Covid remains. Several factors affect the national and local Covid situation.
The Omicron variant has proven much more transmissible, even though an apparently much weaker strain.
The CDC and other agencies have been under pressure to keep workers on the job and children in schools.
Reacting to this pressure, disease-spread guidelines have changed, in many instances loosening.
Sunday, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) updated its COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools to reflect the latest data and trends. This update aligns with DHEC and CDC guidelines, and offers new paths for students to return to campus faster, through use of testing and masking.
As a private organization, Lake Pointe is not under public school requirements, but the academy does monitor and pay attention to the various government guidance. LPA has modified some guidance to better reflect the University Model alternating-day schedule, community size, etc.
Lake Pointe has updated its own policies and procedures from the fall.
Moving forward, this is the path we will be following.
Explanation, in chart form, is included with this message. (Also attached because email does weird things to formatting)
This addresses the most common situations:
- What to do in case of exposure to infected individuals
- What to do in cases of a person testing positive.
- We hope this helps you understand how to interpret various situations and to see your response options.
- Teachers and staff, because you are deemed “essential workers” by government agencies, schools have more leeway in interpreting policies to be in the classrooms.
What to know
Covid testing
Where testing is mentioned, Lake Pointe accepts an FDA-approved home Covid Test / Rapid Test.
Testing services
The York County health department offers free in-vehicle Covid tests at sights at Winthrop University Coliseum and Clinton College in Rock Hill.
Advise academy leaders of conditions
Please be sure to share medical conditions in a timely manner.
Biblical integrity
Lake Pointe seeks to take advantage of one of its greatest strengths, close connection and reliance on families.
Parents, academy plans and procedures assume mutual integrity and honesty. While the temptations may be high, please be honest about medical conditions. Symptoms for the omicron variant often look like a cold or other illness. Avoiding a missed test, etc. is not worth infecting others.
Conversations
When staff members discuss Covid situations, the following questions will likely be asked to assess situations:
- When was the person exposed?
- If infected person is in the household, then has there been isolation?
- Does the person exhibit symptoms?
- If yes, when were the symptoms first observed?
- Who in the scenario has been fully vaccination or boosted?
Watch for Symptoms
People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
This list does not include all possible symptoms. CDC will continue to update this list as we learn more about COVID-19. Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness.
Exposure: Close Contact
Definition
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines Covid close contact exposure as a person who was within 6 feet, for at least 15 minutes, of someone who is infected. This is assumed to include anyone who lives in the same household as someone who has tested positive, if the infected person cannot isolate.
Situations and family response options differ depending upon vaccination status.
See chart below
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