Bishop announces COVID-19 protocols for Houma-Thibodaux Catholic schools

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Bishop Shelton Fabre has announced the COVID-19 protocols for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Read below:

July 27, 2021

To the Catholic Schools Family of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux:

Fully cognizant of the many challenges successfully faced during the previous school year, as the one who serves as your Bishop, I address you today regarding ongoing preparations for the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

Those preparations include the careful consideration of the many protocols recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), and our local and state leaders.

Our first desire is, to the best of our ability, to provide a safe and healthy learning environment in a Christ-centered atmosphere for the students and employees of our family of Catholic schools.

In collaboration with our Return to School Task Force, and in light of the designation of Louisiana by the White House as a “state of concern” because of its rapid case growth and insufficient vaccination rate, we are announcing the following protocols for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux:

∙ Terrebonne General Health System and Thibodaux Regional Health System will again assist our Catholic schools in aspects of any COVID-19 infections or outbreaks in our Catholic schools.

∙ Students and employees who are sick should stay home (regardless of illness). ∙ Those with COVID-19 are required to stay home until they have recovered and have been determined to no longer be infectious according to the CDC’s end of isolation criteria. ∙ Inside school facilities, masks are strongly encouraged for all, regardless of vaccination status.

∙ While outdoors, all fully vaccinated and unvaccinated adults and students do not need to mask if they adhere to physical distancing requirements. It is strongly encouraged that unvaccinated individuals wear masks in crowded outdoor settings or during activities that involve sustained close contact with people who are not fully vaccinated.

∙ Buses are allowed to operate at 100% capacity, and, as required by Presidential Executive Order No. 13998, ALL passengers MUST wear a mask, regardless of bus capacity or vaccination status.

∙ Schools will continue to provide adequate access to hygienic supplies and maintain sanitizing and proper hygiene measures.

As Governor John Bel Edwards has informed the citizens of our state, the deadly Delta variant is creating a challenge for our healthcare providers, and certainly exists as a challenge that must be carefully studied and evaluated as our Office of Catholic Schools continues to assist our Catholic schools in preparing for the start of the new school year. Considering the fluidity of the situation, these guidelines are based on the current medical knowledge of the transmission of COVID-19 and may change at any time in accordance with updates from the CDC, the LA Department of Health, the LA Department of Education, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), or our local medical partners and leaders.

My dear friends, we have been through some interesting and tough months as we continue to deal with this ongoing pandemic, and circumstances and situations seem to be changing all the time. The one constant that we can count on is Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I know that if we continue to journey with Jesus Christ, and as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, we can have a successful school year that both educates our children academically, and also teaches them spiritually about how our faith calls us to care and show concern for one another. Let us hold this intention in prayer as we go forth in faith into a new school year!