UTAH, April 14, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Gov. Gary Herbert, along with state superintendent Syd Dickson announced that public schools will extend their “soft closure” until the end of the school year.
“In order to continue to slow the spread of COVID-19, we believe— based on our review of the data and best practices— that we need to extend the soft closure of our public schools through the remainder of the school year,” Herbert said in a daily press briefing Tuesday.
Although schools will stay physically closed from providing traditional in-person instruction, learning will continue. Local school districts and charters will be instructed to continue with their plans that address the following issues:
- Child nutrition. Schools are to continue providing meals to students who need them, especially for those students who rely on school meals.
- Continuing services for students with disabilities.
- One-on-one or small group tutoring, where it is needed.
- Continuing instruction, whether that be online or off-line instruction.
- Utilize and pay all employees, regardless if their role is directly related to instruction.
The control remains with our local health officers to change this decision from a dismissal to a closure, if they feel the situation in the community develops further.
More specific information on the extension of the soft school closure will be posted on the Utah State Board of Education webpage.
Schools were originally closed for two weeks on March 13. The closure period was then extended to May 1.
The Utah Department of Health reported Monday that 49 new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the state in last 24 hours, and there was one new fatality.
The number of confirmed cases in Utah stands at 2,412, a 2% increase overnight. That is down from a 2.4% increase in cases between Sunday and Monday.
The number of fatalities is 19, with one new death since Sunday. State health epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said the victim was an older male adult, but under 60, from Utah County, and was immunocompromised. He passed away in a hospital, Dunn said.
