COVID-19 Hotline

Health & Safety Protocols

• Frequently Asked Questions | Part 1

  Q. What kind of symptoms will restrict anyone from entering a Milwaukee Ballet Facility?
  A. We are asking all students, guests, and staff to actively monitor themselves for symptoms and to not attend class or enter our facilities if they are feeling unwell. Please use the following information to determine if it’s safe to send your student to class and what actions may need to be taken; including if you need to seek a COVID-19 PCR test.

  Students will be sent home and/or excluded from in-person instruction if:

  • They have tested positive for COVID-19, with or without having symptoms, and have not yet finished their isolation period per public health recommendations.
  • They have been diagnosed with COVID-19 by a health care provider and have not yet finished their isolation period per public health recommendations.
  • They are not fully vaccinated and were in close contact with someone who had COVID-19 in the past five days.

  OR within the last 24 hours, they have experienced the follow symptoms above their baseline:

  • Either cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of smell or taste OR
  • At least two of the following symptoms:
    • Fever (measured or subjective), or chills or rigors
    • Headache
    • Sore throat
    • Fatigue
    • Muscle or body aches
    • Congestion or runny nose
    • Nausea or vomiting
    • Diarrhea

  These symptom criteria apply to COVID-19-related exclusion. Other symptoms may also require exclusion for a different communicable disease. Generally, children with fever, diarrhea, or vomiting alone should be sent home for at least 24 hours, even if it is unrelated to COVID-19 infection.

  Q. What will happen if a student demonstrates any of these symptoms while in a Milwaukee Ballet Facility?
  A. A Milwaukee Ballet staff member will quickly isolate the student in a designated part of the building. If the student is well enough, they will bring their belongings. If not, the student’s belongings will be brought to them.

  Milwaukee Ballet Staff will:

  • remain with the student at all times.
  • conduct a temperature check with the thermometer.
  • contact the student’s parent/guardian immediately to pick up the student as soon as possible.
  • discreetly and immediately notify their teacher that they have been excluded from class and the facility until further notice.
  • ask the student and their family to contact their primary care provider and seek a COVID-19 PCR test as soon as possible (may take up to 36 hours). If a positive case has been defined, MB Staff will contact the local Health Department for advice on next steps if MB is notified that it is a positive result. Health Department action may take up to 72 hours.

  Q. Will a program, class, or facility be shut down if a someone is suspected of having COVID-19?
  A. Milwaukee Ballet and the School & Academy will continue to operate as usual until a positive test result has been provided. Then Milwaukee Ballet will move forward with the recommendations of the local Health Department.

  Q. When can a student return to a Milwaukee Ballet Facility after illness?
  A. A student can return to MBSA classes or other events if an alternate cause of illness has been found and treated (such as strep throat, mono, kidney infection, asthma problems). Milwaukee Ballet may request a doctor’s note prior to student’s return.

  If a student tests positive for COVID-19, all of the following are required before the student’s return:

  • at least 5 days have passed since symptom onset or positive test result, and
  • at least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications, and
  • other symptoms have improved.

  Q. What if you have symptoms but do not test positive?
  A. Questionable symptoms with a negative COVID-19 test (must be a PCR test) would allow students to return to class; however, a resolution of any fever without use of fever-reducing medications and other symptoms must have improved.

  Q. How long do I need to stay home if I tested positive OR if a doctor said I likely have COVID-19?
  A. If you/your student have symptoms, stay at home and away from others until all of the following have occurred:

  • At least 10 days have passed since their symptoms started,
  • No fever (100.4’F or greater) present for at least 24 hours without using any medications to lower the fever, and
  • Other symptoms have improved.

• Frequently Asked Questions | Part 2

  Q. What if I tested positive for COVID-19, but don’t show symptoms?
  A. Please immediately notify the School Office via the COVID-19 24/7 Hotline at 414-334-1114. You should stay home 5 days after the day you were tested and keep away from others as much as possible. Even if you have no symptoms, you can still spread the virus.

  Q. What should I do if I have been asked to get a test?
  A. Please immediately notify the School Office via the COVID-19 24/7 Hotline at 414-334-1114. Be sure to test in the appropriate window. If you are currently symptomatic, please test immediately with a PCR test (or a Rapid test followed by a PCR result would be sufficient). Follow up with the School Office immediately if you have tested positive.

  If you were informed that you were a close contact, testing is recommended:

  • If you are not fully vaccinated, you should test immediately after being identified and must isolate for 5 days. You should test again 5 days after your last exposure or immediately if symptoms develop during isolations.
  • If you are fully vaccinated and received your initial dose or booster within the last six months, you should get tested 5 days after exposure to confirm a negative test result. Continue to mask in indoor public spaces, and monitor for symptoms. You can return to classes following the negative test result.

  Call your primary care provider or visit the CDC website to see if there is a community testing site near you. After being tested, you can expect to receive your result in 1 to 7 days. If you are sick or symptomatic, limit your contact with others outside of your household during this time by staying home as much as possible.

  Q. What if I have been in contact with a confirmed case outside of any Milwaukee Ballet facility?
  A. Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students who have been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case should stay home for 5 days after the last exposure and monitor for symptoms. If they develop symptoms, they should stay home for 5 days from symptom onset and only return to classes once they have 24 hours without a fever without the use of fever reducing medications and overall improvement of other symptoms.

  Students whom are fully vaccinated may return to class immediately; however, they must monitor for symptoms of a COVID-19 infection. Any symptoms present may indicate a breakthrough infection, which will require immediate PCR testing. If their test result is positive, they should stay home for 5 days and only return to classes once they have 24 hours without a fever without the use of fever reducing medications and overall improvement of other symptoms.

  Reporting Protocols for a Suspected COVID-19 Case

  If you/your student are waiting for COVID-19 test results, please do not attend class or any other event at Milwaukee Ballet.

  If you/your student will be absence from classes, due to COVID-19 or any other reason, you must timely submit an online Absence Report Form.

  To report COVID-19 related symptoms, close contact cases, or positive test results, please call the School Office at (414)-334-1114.

  Absence Report Form

• Arrival Procedures

  Students may begin to enter the building through the main/front entrance no sooner than 15 minutes prior to the scheduled class time. Family, friends and visitors will not be admitted into the buildings. Parents are to remain in their cars during their student’s class. Exceptions will be made for one parent/guardian per family for students in Creative Movement and Pre-Ballet classes if necessary. All guests must properly wear a face mask at all times within the building and follow all health and safety policies, including social distancing.

  All students are required to wear a mask in all areas of the building and during classes.

  All students must use the assigned entry and exit doors, stairs, corridors, and studios for their class while remaining 6+ feet apart for social distancing. Specific arrival and departure details will be sent prior to the first day of class, and instructors will monitor entry and exits from then on.

  Students will bring all their belongings (except street shoes) directly into the studio, as the locker and dressing rooms remain closed.

  All students in Creative Movement, Pre-Ballet, and Ballet I through IV will be escorted out by a MBSA faculty member.

• Attendance Guidelines

  Regardless of vaccination status, students should not come to class if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or if they are experiencing any possible symptoms of COVID-19, including:

  • Cough
  • Sore throat
  • Loss of taste or smell
  • Headache
  • Body ache
  • Chills
  • Fatigue
  • Abdominal pain
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea

  Wearing a mask is mandatory at all times in the building for students, staff, faculty, and guests. Neck cloths and masks with valves are not permitted.

  A minimum of 6 feet physical distancing will be maintained throughout, including on stairwells, in corridors, and in studios.

  Students must arrive already dressed in their dance clothes under street clothes and wearing a mask.

  If students are carpooling, they should wear a mask during the ride to and from the studio.

  Parents/guardians are unable to accompany their students into the building, except for students in Creative Movement and Pre-Ballet classes.

  Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy reserves the right to determine that a student is not able to participate in class if symptoms are present. The decision to admit a student to the building rests solely with Milwaukee Ballet faculty and staff.

  Water drinking fountains will be closed, but bottle refill stations will remain open. Bring water in a reusable bottle.

  If a student needs a mask break during class, they should ask their teacher to go to the designated mask break area.

• Cleaning Protocols

  Milwaukee Ballet is implementing CDC recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting a facility.

  Surfaces are pre-cleaned with soap and water, then an EPA-registered surface disinfectant (List N) will be used, approved for use against SARS-CoV-2.

  Staff will regularly clean high-touch areas.

  Ballet barres will be cleaned between each class. Studio floors will be mopped with denatured alcohol between each class.

  There are no soft surfaces in common areas. Chairs will be regularly disinfected.

  Sanitizing stations are installed throughout the building, including at the entrance.

  Use of the elevator is banned unless necessary for ADA purposes.

  Our HVAC system is a Variable Air Volume (VAV) system that keeps our building at 40-60% humidity, allows additional in-flow and exhaust in our studios, and isolation of studios if required. Air filters have been improved to MERV13.

• Response Protocols

  If a student is identified as symptomatic during the program, they will be promptly isolated away from other students, faculty and staff.

  The student’s parents/guardians will be advised immediately, and they will be required to leave the building as soon as possible (unless emergency medical services required).

  The student and family will seek medical care on their own.

  Those considered in “close contact” with the student will be advised, including their class group. Close contact is defined by CDC as being within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes total, regardless of masking. Close contact generally does not include brief interactions, such as walking past a person.
  Classes may be immediately suspended as a matter of safety, pending further details.

  Milwaukee Ballet will notify local health officials to determine a course of action, including duration of potential quarantine.

  The student who is symptomatic cannot return to the program until they have completed a 10-day quarantine and are no longer exhibiting symptoms.

  The building will be deep cleaned within the period of time deemed acceptable by local health officials.

Questions?