If you or a family member have attended a Sunday service or another activity at First Parish and then test positive, the following protocols are recommended by the Wayland Health Department.
Was the individual at the service/activity either:
- 48 hours before the positive test date, if there were no symptoms, or
- 48 hours before symptoms started?
A “yes” answer to either of these questions means that anyone closer than 6 feet for a cumulative 15 minutes over a 24-hour period is considered a close contact.
Close contacts:
If vaccinated, the individual does not have to quarantine unless they develop symptoms within up to 14 days of last being in contact with the affected person.
If the close contact has any low-grade symptoms, including a runny nose/congestion, the individual should have a PCR test. If they remain asymptomatic but want to be tested, they should do so on day 5, counting the date of the service/activity as day 0. If the close contact occurred at a Sunday service, for example, Friday would be the day to have a PCR test and to actively monitor for symptoms.
If unvaccinated, then the close contact needs to strictly quarantine and to be out of the public for at least 7days. For example, if the contact occurred on a Sunday, that would count as day 0 and a PCR test could be done on day 5 or later. Assuming a negative result, the individual could then return to the public on day 8 so long as they do not have and have not had any symptoms. If within the 14-day window they become symptomatic they need to remove themselves from the public for the full 14-day period and be tested.
If someone tests positive, please call Rev. Stephanie May at her work cell, 617-519-5504. Even if Rev. Stephanie is away, the line remains covered by a minister. Any notifications will be shared with the Parish Committee chairs. If the individual testing positive resides in Wayland, the Wayland Health Department will be contacted (508-358-3617). If the individual lives in another town, the appropriate Health Department will be contacted. In addition, Rev. Stephanie May, another staff member, and/or a member of the Parish Committee will alert the other people who were in the building at the time of exposure and send an email blast to update the congregation.
A note from the Health Department: Wayland has and does follow the Mass. Department of Public Health guidance, which may be more strict than that of the CDC, but not less. MDPH does not mandate that vaccinated close contacts be tested on day 5 or later but it is a CDC recommendation, so the Health Department recommends being tested.