Dr. Rachel Levine remains ‘positive and optimistic’ [PA] children will return to schools next month

Pennlive ^ | 23 July A.D. 2020 | David Wenner

[lightman]

Pennsylvania’s health secretary said Thursday she expects students will return to classrooms in August. However, Dr. Rachel Levine also said school reopening is closely tied to success in quelling the recent resurgence of cases, which is highly dependent on state residents wearing face masks and following other steps intended to slow the spread of COVID-19.

She said “it’s critical to drive the case counts down now … in order for schools to reopen. If we don’t do that now, we put [school reopening] in jeopardy.”

Levine noted that some school districts are planning a combination of classroom and online education. She further said she expects the state will look at the situation county-by-county rather than make a state-wide decision.

She said “we’re going to stay positive and optimistic that there will be in-person school when school opens in August, and we’ll be working toward that.”

There’s presently a state-wide order limiting indoor gatherings to no more than 25 people. But Levine said Thursday she expects “exceptions” will be made so the limit doesn’t interfere with school functions such as cafeteria meals and busing students.

Levine said the state is working on guidance for schools to use when reopening.

Gov. Tom Wolf has said he would consider closing down schools if the resurgence of cases can’t be brought under control. But he also said if, new infections remain rampant, many families will keep their children home, and many teachers and staff won’t come to work, effectively closing schools even without a closing order.

Testing is potentially a key part of reopening schools, since it can detect people who may be carrying COVID-19 but aren’t feeling sick.

There are now major delays with test results in Pennsylvania, with much of it blamed on national labs being overwhelmed with tests from other states that are facing major outbreaks. However, Pennsylvania’s state lab, which processes tests from high priority setting such as nursing homes, continues to deliver results in 24-48 hours, according to Levine.

Levine was asked Thursday whether school testing could be designated as a high priority, with tests handled by the state lab to ensure fast results.

She said the state lab might be able to handle tests from a school in a certain situation such as a possible outbreak, but the state lab is unable to handle school testing on a state-wide basis.

[Walrus]

As another FReeper noted in another thread, “if you think putting a wig and lipstick on a man makes him a woman, you probably think a 10 cent mask will prevent you from getting the Coronavirus.”

[ronnie raygun]

But first we will put them in nursing homes

[Mr. Blond]

School starts in August?

[lightman]

Pennsylvania schools started after Labor Day back in the day, except for some rural schools which began the week before Labor Day.

Start of school crept earlier in August as some Districts (we have 500 of them) added days to their calendars; the really big jump to around August 17-18 came when the Pennsylvania State School Assessment test were inaugurated.

Those tests are administered in mid to late April so Districts wanted to start early to allow more time to prepare for the d@mn test...which should really be like final exams in the last week of the school year.