Classrooms across Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Geauga County, Ohio, are reopening inside two of the country's most active measles clusters, and state rules mean the first confirmed case inside a school building will send home far more than one child. Under state guidance for schools and child care programs, exposed students and staff who cannot document immunity should be kept out from day five after the first exposure through day 21 after the last one.
That is a stretch of up to three weeks away from school, sports, clubs, and any school-related activity. Exposure means sharing a space with an infected person, or entering that space within two hours after the person has left. It applies to children whose families have filed religious or philosophical exemptions, regardless of whether the excluded child ever develops symptoms.
