Are Big City Schools Defying The Center For Diseases Control’ Guidelines

In Florida’s Miami-Dade County students are receiving in-person teaching, the maximum number in the United States. Students from high school, middle school and elementary school are receiving in-person classes since October. 

Even when the COVID-19 cases were surging at that time, 48% of the parents opted for in-person teaching for their kids.

Are Big City Schools Defying The Center For Diseases Control’ Guidelines

But now the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention had issued new guidelines for schools to be re-opened amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The CDC has categorized different districts into risk zones. Each coronavirus risk zone has to adhere to the prescribed CDC guidelines. While there are many who sees the opening of the middle and high schools as a high risk that is being overseen.

A news report by A.U.S. shows that many high schools are abiding by the CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection.

All the CDC’s recommendations are strictly followed and even some additional measures are also taken by the school districts falling in the high-risk zone of the COVID-19 hit category. 

But the report also says that the K-12 schools are open full and wide, and also for 5 days a week, which is quite far from the recommended safety guidance. 

The new CDC guidelines about school reopening were released this month. It clarifies the time by which the schools can be re-opened for classroom teaching in a safe manner. Other guidelines describe how one can manage the schools as per the rate of transmission of COVID-19 in that particular community. 

The new CDC guidelines for schools that are re-opened for classroom teaching require everyone to wear masks. Masks are considered one of the best ways to reduce the transmission of infection to minimal. Apart from that, a distance of about 6 feet needs to be maintained among the people or students or anyone present at the place. 

Frequent hand-washing is mandatory. The facilities need to be cleaned, disinfected and sanitized regularly. Also, contact tracing and testing of the asymptomatic students or staff is also mandatory as per the new guidelines. 

The schools that fall in the high-risk zones need to continue with the virtual classes for middle and high school. The high-risk category is simple the communities that have a transmission rate of the COVID-19 infection as 90% or above.

However, elementary schools are advised to go hybrid by practising both virtual and in-person teaching. As long as strict social distancing can be maintained by restricting the attendance of students, the elementary schools can re-open.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky, however, said that the guidelines are only meant for providing a route to schools to safely proceed in the pandemic. School re-opening is not at all mandatory. It is advised to still continue with the virtual classes. But if required to re-open, they should do so while checking the spread of the infection simultaneously.

Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade County’s superintendent, said that they are prepared to follow all the guidelines to prevent COVID-19 while re-opening the school. They are preparing for this since March 2020 itself.

He also added that the community’s COVID-19 protocols are already in harmony with the CDC’s new COVID-19 guidelines for schools.

He said that it is the people outside the schools who are increasing the risk for the spread of the diseases. People are visiting beaches, going to restaurants to party, and in doing so are forgetting the COVID-19 protocols set by CDC. 

The schools on the other hand are in extremely controlled environment. Every protocol every guideline related to the pandemic are in place. 

While most of the schools fell in a COVID-19 high-risk category, schools are set to be re-opened with the recently released guidelines of CDC.