As of Monday, the state has finalized health guidelines needed to reopen the state’s public schools later this year.

This guidance, released during a Monday news conference, would require North Carolina public schools to increase cleanings and do daily temperature checks on all people entering school buildings and school buses.

The StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit lays out a comprehensive set of required and recommended health practices that public schools should follow to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

In preparation for public schools to reopen this August, Governor Roy Cooper said slowing the spread of the coronavirus is more important than ever.

“Schools are vital to learning, physical fitness and social interaction and for many students it’s also a place for healthy meals, safe environments, stability and routine,” Cooper said. “Today as we mark the last week of the traditional school year, we are pushing forward to get schools open again this fall.”

Under this health toolkit’s guidelines, schools would be required to mark out spaces showing six feet of separation, establish routine cleaning of high-touch areas and provide ample amounts of hygiene materials like hand sanitizer.

Recommended health guidance includes wearing cloth face coverings and keeping students six feet apart in classes and on school buses. The Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges that this could cause districts to have to run additional buses or take longer driving students to and from campus.

These guidelines will also require students and staff to be screened for illness before entering the school.

“We know this coming school year will be like no other,” Cooper said. “We’ll all need patience as the plans for each school come together in the coming months. This guidance is an important first step. Now the hard work will be done by local school boards, superintendents, principals and school nurses to tailor the plans to their particular schools.”

Cooper said the reopening of schools will depend on North Carolina’s health metrics – meaning the number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, the percentage of positive tests and the number of daily hospitalizations.

Schools will resume on-campus operations only if data has shown improvement regarding the virus’ spread and severity. Under these new health guidelines, improvements in health trends would allow for more flexibility for districts while negative trends would result in increased social distancing.

“Our important mission of opening school buildings on time could be effected by the failure to slow the spread,” Cooper said. “We do not want that to happen.”

Depending on individual and state-wide health metrics, school districts will fall into one of three plans: Plan A: minimal social distancing, Plan B: moderate social distancing, or Plan C: school closure with remote learning only.

While the goal is to get students back in to the classroom, current trends show that model may not be feasible.

As of Tuesday, North Carolina reported over 37,000 COVID-19 cases, over 1,000 deaths and nearly 800 current hospitalizations. Saturday alone marked the highest single-day increase since the pandemic began with over 1,300 new cases.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, said at this point, these health benchmarks are moving in the wrong direction.

“The percent of tests that are positive is now among the highest in the nation,” Cohen said. “I am concerned. This trends moving in the wrong direction is a signal we need to take very seriously.”

Cohen said we will need to come together and each do our part to change these trends if we want to get our kids back to school.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson said while there is no replacement for time spent in the classroom, safety comes first.

“As education and health leaders, we are balancing the need to get back into the classroom with the reality that COVID-19 is still out there,” Johnson said. “Just last week North Carolina lost a young student to this horrible virus and our top priority must be to prevent any families from having to go through the horrible pain of such a loss.”

North Carolina’s Health Department and State Board of Education will announce by July 1 which of the three plans should be implemented for schools to most safely reopen. The plan will be presented at Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting, although it may change as the state’s COVID-19 metrics change over time.

Photo via Town of Chapel Hill.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

Related Stories
‹
Cooper Vetoes 2nd Reopen Bill, This One For N.C. Gyms, Bars
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday vetoed another attempt by Republican legislators to accelerate the speed in which North Carolina commerce is being restored through his COVID-19 executive order. The vetoed measure would have allowed fitness centers and gyms shuttered since March to reopen at 50% capacity and require they follow social distancing and cleanliness […]
Cooper Lets Changes to NC Schools for Deaf, Blind Become Law
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON Governance of the state’s public residential schools for the deaf and the blind is being shifted to new trustee boards controlled by General Assembly appointees in legislation that became law Monday because Gov. Roy Cooper neither signed nor vetoed it. The state constitution gave the Democratic governor until Sunday night to act […]
As COVID Cases Surge with New Variants, Experts Encourage Bivalent Vaccine
North Carolina last week, compared to 23,322 the previous week. UNC infectious disease specialist Dr. David Wohl said the latest Covid surge is placing stress on hospital systems, clinics and workplaces.
Two Years Into Pandemic, Healthcare Staff Shortages and Burnout Reign
Amid yet another surge of COVID-19 cases and ever-changing protocols and recommendations, healthcare systems and their employees continue to face burnout, staffing shortages and mental health crises.
Red Cross Faces Biggest Blood Shortage Since 2015, Needs 40,000 More Donors
The American Red Cross is experiencing an emergency blood and platelet shortage as collection events are cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic and flu season looms on the horizon.
UNC Infectious Disease Expert Urges Vaccinations as COVID Cases, Hospitalizations Surge
As Orange County prepares to implement an indoor mask mandate, and COVID-19 cases surge due to the more contagious delta variant, infectious disease experts continue to urge people to get vaccinated.
North Carolina Reverses Course, Urges Masks in All Schools
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday decided to reverse course from guidance he issued last week and will now urge all K-12 public school students and staff to be masked, even if they have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. The Democratic governor and the state’s top public health official, Dr. Mandy Cohen, pinned much blame […]
UNC, Duke Health To Require Staff COVID-19 Vaccinations by September
UNC Health, alongside other state healthcare systems, has announced that it will make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all staff. According to a UNC Health statement, all staff must receive their vaccine by Tuesday, September 21. The message said the main goal of these mandatory COVID vaccinations is to “protect the health and safety of our […]
North Carolina Surpasses 1 Million COVID-19 Cases
North Carolina hit a major benchmark on Wednesday when it officially surpassed one million COVID-19 cases within the state. Data from the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services shows the state has accounted for 1,000,416 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in early 2020. Data from the Center for Disease Control […]
OC State of Emergency Needs Permission From State, May Expire Ahead of Schedule
Amid changing guidelines from the state and federal government, Orange County may soon have to alter its COVID-19 State of Emergency order to expire ahead of schedule. 
›