Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, is asking the Connecticut State Department of Education and state Department of Public Health to revise the new "Screen and Stay" policy on COVID-19 cases in schools to include cafeteria contacts.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced the policy Nov. 4 that students and staff — regardless of vaccination status — don't have to quarantine if they're a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID-19, providing they were masked, they don't have symptoms, and the contact happened during the school day. The policy is voluntary for districts.

But the guidance from DPH and CSDE said the policy doesn't include situations "where masks were removed and 6 feet of spacing was not maintained (e.g., in the cafeteria, in the classroom during a snack period, mask break, etc.)"

Rather, close contacts who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated would have to quarantine for 10 days, or seven days with a negative COVID-19 test from day five or later.

"From an epidemiological standpoint, one can understand that a greater risk of transmission exists while eating as opposed to sitting masked in a classroom," Howard wrote in a letter Monday to DPH Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani and CSDE Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker.

He said, "However, I think we can agree that there is a much greater risk of transmission during in-class instruction compared to full-distance learning. Even still, CT has appropriately weighed the risk of infection against the negative impact of lost education days and stalled social-emotional development concluding that in-class instruction is of lesser risk to our children."

The representative noted that under Massachusetts' Test and Stay model, in which close contacts get a rapid test daily for at least five days after exposure, students can participate regardless of where in school the exposure occurred.

According to data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 0.85% of the 86,236 tests conducted under this program as of Oct. 31 have come back positive.

"These numbers overwhelmingly support the fact that in-school transmission is extremely low, especially when you consider that we do not know how many of the 732 positive tests were the result of an out-of-school contact and not due to an in-school transmission," Howard wrote.

Department of Education spokesperson Eric Schofield declined to comment on the letter at this time; he acknowledged the department received the letter but said it is going through its normal process to provide a response to Howard. He didn't have a timeline for a response.

DPH spokesperson Christopher Boyle said the department received the letter Monday and will prepare an official response, which will be a public document.

e.moser@theday.com