No, social bubbles can only be a maximum of 12 individuals.

The State of California's mandate of face coverings requires any person over 2 years of age to wear a face covering when in a public place, especially when:

• at indoor AND outdoor businesses – whether as an employee or a customer
• waiting in line to enter a store
• waiting for and using public transit
• when in a taxi or rideshare
• when seeking healthcare; or visiting a hospital, medical clinic, pharmacy, laboratory, dental office, veterinary clinic or blood bank
• walking outside and within 6 feet of others (about the length of a mattress)

Exceptions may be made for individuals with medical conditions or disabilities that prevent them from safely wearing a face covering. For more information, visit coronavirus.marinhhs.org/masks

Cold, influenza and COVID-19 symptoms can be similar. Regardless, keeping the child home that is showing symptoms is a good way to reduce the spread of colds and flu within schools.    

As for others in your household, if your child is showing symptoms, its important to evaluate your child’s symptoms and possible exposures to COVID-19 when deciding whether other children in your household should stay home.  Marin Public Health has developed a decision tree to guide parents, based on whether the child has a fever or if the child was exposed to someone with COVID-19. 

Social bubbles are groups of people that must be consistent for three weeks, not interacting with others outside the bubble closer than Social Distancing rules require. After three weeks, people may regroup in new bubbles as long as they are healthy. There is no break required between bubble periods.

A face covering is a mask or cloth face covering that covers your nose and mouth. The face covering should allow for breathing without restriction. There is no requirement to wear a hospital grade mask or other specific type or brand of face covering. You may wear a homemade face covering, if it fits closely and covers your nose and mouth.

For more specific information on how to make or care for your face covering, visit https://coronavirus.marinhhs.org/masks.

If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, the following things should occur:  

• Information is reported to school administration 
• The person is sent home to isolate per Public Health Guidance. 
• Families of the student/staff are quarantined and should pursue testing through their health care provider, local community clinic, or Marin Public Health.  
• Student families and Staff of the affected cohort are notified by phone call and letter.  
• The respective student/staff member’s classroom is closed for 14 days from the last known exposure.  However, the rest of the school remains OPEN.  

For more detailed information, visit https://bit.ly/ExposureProtocols and review the Student & Family Handbook on COVID-19 safety.  

No. The total number of people for one bubble should be 12 people. Therefore, a family of four should only add eight people.

It is permissible for an employer to require employees be tested for COVID and share their results with the employer, as long as the test is “job-related and consistent with business necessity.”

It is important that employees be virus-free when they come to work. Requiring testing and requiring employees to share the results is permissible. The employer must keep the employee medical information confidential and must maintain it separately from the employee’s personnel file.

Cohorts are limited to 14 children or fewer, per State guidance. Children should not participate in more than two (2) cohorts. School is one of the two cohorts.  

No, housekeepers do not need to be part of your social bubble. Currently, the rules state that you should not be at home while your housekeeper is working so you should not have direct contact with him/her. Also, social bubbles are meant for outdoor activities at this point.

No, not when used by themselves (without a mask).  The purpose of face shields is to protect the facial area and eyes, nose and mouth from splashes, sprays or splatters of body fluids and are usually used by health care workers, dental providers, and other emergency medical providers.

Face shields are generally not used alone, but in conjunction with other protective equipment like a mask.

Face shields do not hug the face like a mask. Face shields used without masks still allow the respiratory droplets to escape because the shields are open on the sides and bottom.  In the sense of “my mask protects you, your mask protects me” a face shield used alone does not stop the flow of respiratory droplets like wearing an appropriate fitting mask or face covering does. 

Students and staff should NOT come to school when: 

• They have a fever of 100.4°F or higher or any symptoms of illness. 
• Parents / guardians should check their child / children for symptoms of illness every morning before bringing them to school. If your child has any of the following more common symptoms of COVID-19, they must be tested for COVID-19 or stay at home and isolate for at least 10 days (“Test or 10”).  
• Fever (100.4°F/38°C or higher) or chills  
• Cough  
• Sore throat  
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing  
• Not being able to taste or smell 
• Headache  
• Diarrhea  
• Nausea or vomiting 

Students who exhibit the following less common symptoms of COVID-19 must be evaluated by a healthcare provider to determine if COVID-19 testing indicated:    

• New onset of stuffy or runny nose (different from pre-existing allergies)  
• Body aches  

Fatigue or lethargy 

• If a household member (including caregiver) has symptoms of COVID-19, they should contact their healthcare provider to schedule testing immediately. Students and staff must stay home until their household member tests negative for COVID-19.  If the household member tests positive for COVID-19, your family must quarantine for 14 days from their last contact. 
• If they had close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 (e.g., relative, friend), they must stay at home and quarantine for 14 days after their last contact with the person who has COVID-19.  
• Students with known underlying health conditions may be at increased risk of severe illness. These health conditions may include Diabetes (Type I and II), immune system deficiencies, or chronic respiratory conditions. If your child has a chronic health condition, please consult with your child’s healthcare provider to determine if/when it is safe to attend school. 

 Any student or staff member who has tested positive for COVID-19 or who has been exposed to COVID-19 must stay home from school and follow Marin County Public Health’s At Home Quarantine & Isolation Safety Guidance. Parents / guardians must notify the school immediately if their child or household member tests positive for COVID-19 or if a household member may have been exposed to COVID-19. This information will be kept confidential. 

It depends on the household situation of those 11 friends. For example, if one of the friends belongs to a household of four people, then the entire household (all four people) would need to join your bubble, not just the individual friend. Remember, social bubble membership is exclusive. So, in the off chance you’re “bubbling” with 11 other single (no children, live alone) adults, all of you would need to remain committed to stick with that same group for a minimum of three weeks.

An outdoor playground and/or recreational facility are:

• Fully outdoors
• Publicly accessible
• Free to enter and use
• Operated by a city, state, county or federal government
• Designed primarily to serve nearby residents within a half a mile
• Typically includes recreational equipment, like play structures, slides, swings, etc. intended to enrich children's physical health and development

This guidance does not apply to indoor playgrounds or family entertainment centers.

Isolation and quarantine are public health practices used to protect the public by preventing exposure to people who have or may have a contagious disease. 

• Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. 
• Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. These people may have been exposed to a disease and do not know it, or they may have the disease but do not show symptoms. 

If you test positive for COVID-19, you must isolate according to Marin Public Health’s At home Quarantine & Isolation Safety (English) (Spanish). You should stay home and away from others during the duration of your isolation: do not go to school or work and do not run errands.  Leave only if you have a medical emergency.  

If you have been in “Close Contact” with people who have tested positive for COVID-19, you must quarantine according to Marin Public Health’s At home Quarantine & Isolation Safety (English) (Spanish).  Your quarantine period lasts 14-days from when you were last in contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19.  Like isolation, you should stay home and away from others during quarantine: do not go to school or work and do not run errands.  Leave only if you have a medical emergency. 

“Close Contact” means:  

• any household member 
• individuals that have shared a home within 14 days of a person's COVID-19 diagnosis 
• intimate partners 
• caregivers 
• someone who was within six feet of an infected person for 15 minutes or longer. 

If you have tested for COVID-19 you must stay at home while waiting for results.