Imperial County
Public Health Department

School Waiver Application

• Health Officer Cover Letter 
• Waiver application TK-6th
• Presentation - COVID-19 Cases & Exposure Reporting (REV. 10/2/2020)

Reporting COVID-19 Positive Cases and Exposures

Schools and childcare providers are required to immediately notify the Imperial County Public Health Department of any positive cases of COVID-19, as well as, exposed staff and students. The full Public Health Guidance on Reporting COVID-19 Positive Cases and Exposures can be found in the Guidance section of this page.

Following, are steps for schools and childcare providers when reporting a COVID-19 positive case and/or an exposure:

1. Before completing the required form, you will need to collect a list of people that were exposed to this COVID-19 positive case, as well as some general information on the COVID-19 positive case (i.e. testing facility, test collection date, DOB, etc…) You can download this Questionnaire before starting your electronic form submission. Please note that if you are submitting more than 16 exposures, you will need to e-mail your exposure line list to phepireport@co.imperial.ca.us.
2. Complete the electronic School and Childcare Facility Reporting of COVID-19 Positive Case and Exposures linked below. Please note that you will need to submit all relevant information at once. Once you start filling out the form, you will need to complete the submission.
3. For additional information or guidance, contact Vanessa Caldera at (442) 265-1378.

School and Childcare Guidance Documents

Public Health Guidance and Reporting COVID-19 Positive Cases and Exposures (REV. 01/08/2020)
Interim Guidance for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in K-12 Schools

• General Isolation Information

• General quarantine Information and Scenarios

COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Schools and School-Based Programs
Guidance on Returning to Work or School Following COVID-19 Diagnosis
COVID-19 Case and Contact Management With Child Care Facilities
ICOE COVID-19 Website

Reporting COVID-19 Positive Cases

In accordance with California Assembly Bill 685 (AB 685), Imperial County employers are required to notify the Imperial County Public Health Department of all COVID-19 related outbreaks within their workplace.  An outbreak is defined as three or more confirmed COVID-19 cases within a 14- day period that are from different households and are not identified as close contacts of each other in any other COVID-19 case investigation. The full Public Health Guidance on Reporting COVID-19 Positive Cases and Exposures can be found in the Guidance Documents section of this page.

 Following, are steps for employers when reporting a COVID-19 positive case and/or exposure: 

• Step 1: Before completing the required form, you will need to collect a list of people that were exposed to the COVID-19 positive case, as well as some general information on the COVID-19 positive case. You can download a questionnaire from Guidance Documents before starting your electronic form submission. Please note that if you are submitting more than 6 exposures, you will need to e-mail your exposure list to phepireport@co.imperial.ca.us.
   
• Step 2: Complete the electronic Workplace Reporting of COVID-19 Outbreak Form linked below. Please note that you will need to submit all relevant information at once.  Once you start filling out the form, you will need to complete the submission.
   
• Step 3: For additional information or guidance, contact Vanessa Caldera at (442) 265-1378. 

  Guidance Documents 

• Training Slides
• Public Health Guidance for Reporting COVID-19 Positive Cases and Exposures (Download PDF) 
  • APPENDIX A - Workplace Reporting of COVID-19 Outbreak Form (Download PDF) 
  • APPENDIX B - Exposure Line List (Download PDF) 
  • APPENDIX C - Employer Notification Letter (English) (Download PDF) 
  • APPENDIX D - Employer Notification Letter (Spanish) (Download PDF) 
• Employer Questions about AB 685, California’s New COVID-19 Law
• Guidance for multiple industries
• General industry guidance
• Guidance for specific industries
• Workplaces
• Industry-specific worker safety guidelines
• IV Business Recovery Taskforce
• Site Specific Protection Plan (General)
• Site Specific Protection Plan (Food Facilities)
• Sample Agency COVID-19 Response Plan
• Guidance for Essential Businesses (4.10.2020)
• Mitigation Measures for Public Swimming Pools and Spas
• COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Measures for Food Facilities 
• COVID-19 & STIGMA  

• COVID-19 Confidential Morbidity Report
• COVID-19 Contact Tracing (Infographic)
• COVID-19 Testing Guidance (4.2.20)
• COVID-19 Mandatory Reporting - Health Officer Order (3.9.20)
• COVID-19 Guidance (3.6.20)
• Healthcare Professionals Presentation by Dr. Munday
• COVID-19 Person Under Investigation (PUI) Report Form

A written, worksite-specific COVID-10 prevention plan needs to be developed for every facility based on a comprehensive risk assessment of all work areas, and each facility must designate a person to implement the plan.

Statewide guidance for business has been developed along with compliance checklists that can be found at the following link: https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/. Review the guidance that is relevant to your workplace, prepare a plan based on the guidance for your industry, and put it into action. Please note that businesses may use effective alternative or innovative methods to build upon the guidelines.

The following WORKSITE-SPECIFIC PROTECTION PLAN Template has been developed to assist Imperial County businesses perform a risk assessment and develop the required site-specific protection plan. Businesses are not required to obtain approval of their plan. However, businesses must select applicable measures listed on the template, provide specific details specific to their business, and be prepared to explain why any measure not implemented is not applicable to the business.

If properly completed, this Template can serve as the required Worksite-Specific Plan necessary to open per the Governor’s and Imperial County Health Officer’s order.