Reopening Primary Schools in a Pandemic The New England Journal of Medicine supports the re-opening of primary schools. “We believe that primary schools should be recognized as essential services — and school personnel as essential workers — and that school reopening plans should be developed and financed accordingly.” (July 29, 2020)
Surgeon General The "biggest determinant" of whether schools reopen will be the transmission rate in a given area and urged people to wear masks and social distance to decrease that rate in order to protect teachers and families who are at a higher risk than students. (July 21, 2020)
School Division Plans in SW VA Most divisions have proposed or approved plans similar to our hybrid; Grayson County has proposed a full return M-Th. (July 21, 2020)
More likely to contract at home South Korean epidemiologists have found that people were more likely to contract the new coronavirus from members of their own households than from contacts outside the home. (July 21, 2020)
Summer School in PCPS We held a socially distanced face-to-face summer school for 70+ students with a maximum of 7 students per classroom. We learned several lessons about facilities and protocols. (July 17, 2020)
South Korea Study The study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that children younger than 10 transmit to others much less often than adults do, but the risk is not zero. And those between the ages of 10 and 19 can spread the virus at least as well as adults do. (July 16, 2020)
Florida child rates of infection Florida had tested 54,022 Florida residents under the age of 18, according to the state’s COVID-19 pediatric report on July 10. Of those tests, 16,797, or just over 31 percent, have come back positive. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said last month that children and adolescents were “less likely to be symptomatic and less likely to have severe disease” resulting from a COVID-19 infection. (July 15, 2020)
Summer Camp Closures A summer camp in Arkansas and another in Missouri have closed down after 80+ campers and staff tested positive for Covid-19. (July 8, 2020)