Told to quarantine, a Utah mom sent her daughter to school anyway. Here's what happened

BOUNTIFUL, Utah (KUTV) — The back-and-forth started this week, with a Monday phone a call and a letter.

“That my child was exposed to COVID and she would need to quarantine,” Nichole Mason said.

Discouraged, Mason wanted to be sure her daughter had indeed been exposed.

“I researched what the definition of an exposure was. I read the COVID manual put out by the district,” she said.

Her daughter insisted — she hadn’t been within six feet of anyone for more than 15 minutes.

“We went through a play-by-play of the day in question, and she assured me there was no way,” Mason said.

Mason says she contacted her health care provider, explained the situation and was told there wasn’t any risk.

So on Tuesday, Mason dropped her daughter off at school. If anyone asked why she was there, her daughter was to have them call her.

The call came soon after she arrived, from the principal, and Mason pleaded her case.

“She said, ‘OK, yeah. That makes sense.’ She was very gracious about it,” Mason said of the principal.

So, with Mason’s daughter in isolation at the office, the issue was escalated to several different people with the Davis School District. A couple hours later, someone from the risk management department visited the classroom in question with a tape measure.

“He did the measurements and said 'I think we’re OK; the kids don’t have to be quarantined,'" said Chris Williams, the district spokesperson.

Mason says if she believed her daughter was exposed, she would never have resisted the quarantine.

I certainly didn’t set out to fight with anyone by any means,” she said. “I hope more parents feel comfortable asking questions.”

Her daughter’s case is evidence, she says, that honest mistakes happen.

“There’s evidence in this one case,” Williams said.

The district reports this is the only time they’ve rescinded a quarantine letter on further review, but they’re not unwilling to listen to parents.

We don’t want students out of class because someone made a mistake,” he said.

But if you have doubts about the contact tracing, the district strongly urges parents not force the issue by bringing their child back right away.

“Make a phone call or two,” Williams said.

Every school in the Davis district has either one or two contact tracers, depending on size. They are funded and trained by the county health department, but are considered school district employees, the health department said.