Aug. 23 (UPI) — As K-12 schools reopen across the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is releasing updated infection protection guidelines for schools returning to in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States passed 175,000 Saturday, according to the online case tracker posted by Johns Hopkins University. Total U.S. confirmed cases were reported at 5.6 million with 175,843 deaths.
As the school year begins across the country, federal health officials urged caution when reopening schools for online learning.
“Everyone’s goal is to prioritize the reopening of schools as safely and as quickly as possible given the many known and established benefits of in-person learning,” the agency said in a report, but added, “the many benefits of in-person schooling should be weighed against the risks posed by COVID-19 spread.”
The agency maintained that each school district should make decisions based on the rates of COVID-19 in the community and the district’s capacity to mitigate risks within schools. Schools should follow state and local guidelines for reopening, especially in areas of high community transmission.
New recommendations included daily monitoring of local public health COVID-19 transmission data and developing protocol to communicate transparently with parents if school closures are necessary.
The agency said the lowest risk for in-person learning could take place at schools with a “hybrid” learning model involving some online mixed with in-person classes. Small in-person classes with alternating or staggered schedules, and cohorts of students and teachers that did not mix freely also were encouraged.
For all schools, the CDC recommended cloth face coverings for students, teachers and staff, no handling of common items, frequent handwashing and regular deep-cleaning of highly touched surfaces in school facilities. The agency also recommended eating lunch in small groups instead of lunchrooms, opening classroom windows and using fans, when possible, rearranging desks to face all one direction and installing plastic shields in bathrooms where sinks could not be 6 feet apart.
The most high-risk school scenarios were those where students and teachers freely moved throughout the school, where masks and handwashing were not enforced, where common objects were shared, and where school-wide cleaning and disinfecting were irregular.
COVID-19 poses low risks to school-aged children, with few hospitalizations compared to adults, at least in areas with low community transmission, the agency said. But children can be asymptomatic carriers of the disease, increasing risks to teachers, administrators, staff and parents in the community, the agency said.
“In order to reach the goal of reopening schools as safely and as quickly as possible for in-person learning, and help schools remain open, it is important to adopt and diligently implement actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 inside the school and out in the community,” the report said.
Meanwhile some of the virus hot spots in New York, Florida, Texas and Arizona showed reduced new cases of COVID-19 with levels dropping below those reported in May and June.
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a record low in positivity rate and hospitalizations for new cases of COVID-19. The New York State Department of Health reported that the rate of positive tests remained below 1% for the 15th consecutive day, with a new low rate of 0.69% reported Saturday.
New hospitalizations dropped to 463 in the state and the number of patients in intensive care was at 116, a new low since mid-March, the governor’s office reported. Four deaths were reported Friday along with 653 new confirmed cases.
“This shows that protecting public health and reopening our economy aren’t mutually exclusive if done the right way, and record-high testing doesn’t equal more positive tests,” Cuomo said in a statement. “New Yorkers have driven this recovery and I urge everyone to stay New York tough — wear masks, socially distance and stay disciplined. This thing isn’t over yet.”
New York has reported 429,165 cases and 32,456 deaths since the pandemic began.
In Florida, the positive test rate fell below 5% for the first time since the virus spiked in June, when the rate was 15%, the Florida Department of Health announced. The daily rate of positive cases was 4.89% Saturday, when the state reported 4,311 new cases and 107 more deaths.
In total, Florida has reported 597,597 people who tested positive for COVID-19 and 10,411 deaths as of Saturday. A total of 36,329 residents have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic, the state health department said.
As some Florida schools reopened with students having the option of virtual learning, Gov. Ron DeSantis has asserted that risks to children from the virus are lower than the flu.
“The fact is, in terms of the risk to school kids, this is lower risk than seasonal influenza,” DeSantis said in early August.
All schools across the state will be open by Aug. 31.
In Texas, new cases began to drop and the number of hospitalizations fell to 5,566 as of Friday, a drop of 1,066 within a week, the state’s health department reported. There were 4,651 new cases, with the testing positivity rate over seven days at 14.4%. On Friday 258 more deaths were reported, bringing the total number of Texas deaths to 11,051.
The Texas department of education will start posting the number of coronavirus cases reported in schools on a state website, the Texas Tribune reported. Schools must report COVID-19 cases to the Texas Education Agency and Department of State Health Services within 24 hours, Mike Morath, the state education commissioner said.
In Arizona, the number of new cases dropped to 996 Saturday, with 68 deaths, the lowest reported since mid-June. The positive test rate was less than 5%, the lowest since May, KTAR reported.
Schools in two counties were cleared to reopen, but school districts in 13 other counties, including heavily populated Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties, have not cleared state health benchmarks. Many Arizona schools were scheduled to reopen Aug. 17 and have delayed their plans.
Gov. Doug Ducey said mandatory mask regulations and a clampdown on nightclubs and bars was working to drive down the numbers, but that it was not time to ease up on restrictions.
“Returning our kids to the classroom, reuniting with our loved ones — all of these depend on continued responsible behavior,” Ducey said Thursday. “I urge everyone to stay the course.”
An Arizona teacher testifying Aug. 6 in Congress warned that in-person classes would turn schools into a “petri dish” after she and two other teachers in one school contracted COVID-19 during summer school and one died. Angela Skillings said she feared more teachers would become sickened, like she was.
“Together as a staff, we are worried about each other and about what can happen, and we are not ready to lose another staff member,” she said.
