KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Middle school and high school students from homes with those most at-risk for complications from COVID-19 should not return to school this fall, according to new guidance from the Clay County Public Health Center.
Citing evidence that children under 10 years old are less likely than older children to transmit the COVID-19 virus and the difficulties in teaching young students virtually, the health department recommends elementary school students attend in-person class.
That is one of the return-to-school guidelines the health department issued Wednesday afternoon as part of 19 pages of recommendations for safely reopening schools.
But the guidance for older children, who transmit the disease at similar rates to adults, recommends virtual-only or, at minimum, a hybrid option among 19 pages of return-to-school guidelines released Wednesday afternoon.
“We are recommending virtual learning for high school and middle school students where a household member is considered high risk,” according to Clay County’s guidelines.
That would include families with grandparents or people over age 65 in the home as well as families with a member who has certain underlying medical conditions. Those include:
- Cancer
- Kidney disease
- COPD
- Organ transplant recipients
- Obesity (body-mass index above 30)
- Heart conditions
- Sickle cell disease
- Type 2 diabetes
Parents are urged to consult their family doctor before sending children with neurologic, genetic or metabolic conditions back to school as well as those with heart issues.
Additionally, the health department does not recommend resuming school-sponsored athletics, citing several outbreaks “associated with youth who participate in sports activities.”
The Clay County Public Health Center is also recommending school be delayed until after Labor Day and strongly consider virtual-only or hybrid models, which severely limit contact among groups of students and reduce the number of in-person attendance.
Schools that choose to offer in-person classes are urged to adopt several protocols to help reduce possible exposure or spread of COVID-19, including:
- A daily health screening plan for students and staff
- Staggered lunch times and use or alternate common spaces to keep students in small cohorts
- Physical distancing in classrooms of at least six feet, where possible with desks facing the same direction
- Avoid large gatherings like assemblies, pep rallies, choir rehearsals, band practice and theater performances
- Have contingencies plans ready in the event of an outbreak at a building or in the community
- Require all students, faculty and staff to wear face masks
- Establish a COVID-19 response point person — who will develop policies and procedures, receive training in contact tracing and communicate with local health officials in the event of a positive case
The health department also suggests ensuring good ventilation in buildings. That means conducting activities outdoors when possible and opening windows when the weather allows.
HVAC systems should be run at least an hour before and after building occupancy each day and care should be taken not to block vents with furniture or other obstructions in classrooms.
The health department also recommends visitors, including parents, refrain from entering school buildings, limit water fountain usage to refilling water bottle only and encourage frequent hand-washing or use of hand sanitizer — upon entering the building, before and after meals, after visiting the bathroom, before and after group activities and recess as well as before getting on the bus.
The Clay County Public Health Center also offered several recommendations for cleaning protocols and for when to close schools.
If a school has 5% of students test positive on a given day, 4% over two days or 3% test positive three days in a row, the health department recommends the school or district close for at least 10 days and consult health officials before reopening.
