Dunkirk Superintendent of Schools Michael Mansfield betrayed a little weariness about the COVID-19 pandemic Tuesday when he told the district’s Board of Education, “This is something I’d hoped I’d never have to do again.”

Mansfield was beginning an update on the district’s COVID-19 protocols for the 2022-23 school year. While the pandemic is now two and a half years old, and mostly absent from the headlines these days, it is still a huge concern for health and education officials and each school district in the state must have updated plans for this school year.

However, as Mansfield noted, the whole thing is “much relaxed” from the restrictions that vexed school districts in 2020-21. He then went over a document that lays out Dunkirk’s student protocols for COVID during this school year.

Universal masking and social distancing are no longer required. Students can wear masks if their families want them to.

People exposed to COVID no longer have to quarantine, no matter what their vaccination status is. Families of children exposed to COVID won’t get notified by school employees anymore, as contact tracing is no longer required, the document continues.

Parents should monitor their children for COVID symptoms and keep them home if they exhibit any. They should also get the kids tested for COVID, if symptoms of it show up. If a child tests negative, he or she can return to school once fever-free for 24 hours and symptoms are improving. If there is a positive test, the child is supposed to isolate at home for five days. It’s recommended the student wear a mask for five days after returning to school.

Mansfield said the guidance is similar for district staff. He noted that employees can still use “COVID days” they first received in 2020, if they need to stay home.

The district has a fresh batch of COVID tests and still has some left over from the end of the previous school year, he added.

The superintendent closed his COVID report much as he began it: “I hope it’s the last one I ever do.”