DATE
Dear [school name],
Today, MCPS was notified by the Montgomery County Health Department that a member of the [school]
school community has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. We are sending a letter to the entire
school in order to be transparent and to give you all of the information that you need to know.
MCPS will work closely with our Health Department to ensure that appropriate contact tracing is
completed, and we ask that you follow their guidance. A contact is defined as someone who within 6 feet
of a COVID-19 positive person for 15 minutes or more without a face covering.
There should be very few possible exposures during a school day if students and staff are wearing their
masks, washing their hands regularly, and practicing physical distancing. A positive COVID-19 case in the
school building does not mean that the person contracted the virus at school.
The entire school building will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, with special attention paid to any
areas where the infected person might have been. We will continue our normal school operations and will
provide additional reminders to staff and students about proper masking and hand washing techniques.
In our commitment to maintain open and honest communication with our families, the MCPS Return to
School Plan specifies that we will notify an entire school whenever there has been a confirmed positive
case of COVID-19. We will not publicly disclose any further identifying information as all contact tracing
will be handled by the Health Department.
Please contact [school name] at [school number] if you have any additional questions or concerns. You
may also contact the Health Department public health hotline at 540-267-8240.