• Find a vaccination location

• What you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters in Massachusetts

• COVID-19 Treatments and Medications

• COVID-19 information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

We follow guidance from the CDC, DESE, and public health officials in the continued implementation of established health and safety measures. The community is encouraged to continue self-testing at home, and to carry on safety efforts such as getting the COVID-19 vaccination, staying home when sick, and performing good hand washing and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers regularly.  

HPS carefully considers evolving health data concerning the COVID-19 cases in Holyoke and Massachusetts.  District leaders are in regular contact with Director of the Holyoke Board of Health Sean Gonsalves to review health data and continue to review our COVID-19 management plans.  The Massachusetts Department of Public Health provides up-to-date COVID-19 health metrics for cities and towns weekly. 

• Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

• New loss of taste or smell

• Muscle aches or body aches

• Cough (not due to other known cause, such as a chronic cough)

• Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms

• Nausea, vomiting, when in combination with other symptoms

• Headache, when in combination with other symptoms

• Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms

If an individual tests positive for COVID-19, they should remain out of school.  If they have no symptoms or, the symptoms are resolving, and they’ve been fever-free without using fever-reducing medicine for 24 hours, they may return to in-person attendance after Day 5 (on Day 6). They should wear a high-quality mask through Day 10.  They do not need to mask if they have a negative test on Day 5 or later.  To count days for isolation, Day 0 is the day the positive test was taken. Contact your physician as needed. 

If you are a parent and wish to speak with a nurse or notify the school nurse of a positive COVID-19 status, contact your child’s  School Nurse. Contact your healthcare provider as needed.

Staff members who have questions or test positive should reach out to their building School Nurse. For Central Office and Central Supply staff with COVID-19 questions or concerns, or if COVID-19 positive, send an Email to Nurse Amie and provide your contact information so she can get back to you.  In addition to contacting the nurse, staff must notify their supervisor and HR generalist. Contact your healthcare provider as needed.

• Seek COVID testing when experiencing symptoms or following a close-contact exposure before returning to school, work, or other locations where you may risk spreading illness to others.

• Stay home when you feel sick or have symptoms of a cold or flu-like illness.

• Consult your healthcare provider or an urgent-care center as needed. 

• Notify your building nurse of any respiratory illnesses you may be experiencing. 

• Practice good hand hygiene, cough or sneeze into your sleeve, avoid crowded areas, and maintain distance between yourself and others where possible, and teach these practices to your children and students.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children—also called MIS-C or pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome temporarily related to SARS CoV-2, PMIS or PIMS-TS)—is a potentially serious illness in children that appears to be a delayed, post-infectious complication of a COVID-19 infection.