Gov. Cooper issues health guidelines for NC schools, says it won’t be a ‘reckless decision’
Even as North Carolina’s rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and people hospitalized by the virus are concerning to state officials, Gov. Roy Cooper said the state has finalized health guidelines needed to reopen the state’s public schools later this year.
The guidance, released during a Monday news conference, would require North Carolina public schools to increase cleanings and do daily temperature check on all people entering school buildings and school buses.
Daily temperature checks will be challenging at larger schools which have 2,000 or more students.
To promote social distancing, schools would be required to mark out spaces showing 6 feet of separation.
Some health guidance is recommended but not required including:
▪ Wearing cloth face coverings.
▪ Keeping students 6 feet apart in class. If that’s not feasible, schools are urged to have students all face the same direction.
▪ Keep students 6 feet apart on school buses. This could cause districts to have to run additional buses or take longer driving students to and from campus.
The DHHS guidance calls for school districts to develop three plans: reopen with minimal social distancing, reopen with moderate social distance or keep schools closed using only remote instruction.
The state Department of Health and Human Services will recommend by July 1 which plan to use with school districts being able to use a more restrictive one. DPI will release guidance on how to put the health guidance in effect. It will be presented at Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting.
NC hits record hospitalizations again
The guidance is based on what key benchmarks state officials are monitoring regarding the virus’ spread and severity show.
At this point, those benchmarks are moving in the wrong direction, Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services said.
“I am concerned,” Cohen said during the press briefing Monday, the same day the state hit a new single-day high in the number of reported COVID-19 patients hospitalized with 739.
In addition to record hospitalizations, the state’s percentage of positive COVID-19 tests, which has been fluctuating between 9 and 10 percent for the last six days, was 9 percent.
The 938 new reported COVID-19 cases added to the state’s total on Monday increased the seven-day average of new daily cases to 1,032, the first time that figure has been at 1,000 or above.
The number of reported deaths attributed to the virus in the state reached 1,006.
Cooper said the rate of the virus’ spread in the state drew the attention of the White House’s coronavirus task force. He said Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus coordinator, called Cohen on Friday to discuss the situation.
“We had a good conversation,” Cohen said. “She was sharing with us her concerns about North Carolina accelerating trends in the wrong direction.”
Cohen said the state needs to be vigilant and continue to ramp up testing and tracing.
”But we have a lot of work to do,” Cohen said.
“Today marks our highest day of people hospitalized for COVID-19 since this pandemic began,” Cooper said. “Over the weekend we saw our single highest day of new cases reported. We are seeing more viral spread, and these numbers are concerning. With all the challenges we face opening schools, boosting our economy and tackling racism head on, we must remember this virus is still with us and can be deadly. In our jobs, in our protests and in our everyday lives, we must protect ourselves, our families and the people around us.”
‘Schools are vital to learning’
Cooper closed the state’s schools in March when the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a worldwide pandemic. They didn’t reopen for the 2019-20 school year and classes were switched to remote learning.
“It was a tough call because we know the hardship caused not only to students and teachers, but to families as well,” Cooper said Monday. “Schools are vital to learning, physical fitness and social interaction. For many students, it’s a place for healthy meals, safe environments, stability and routine.”
The state has been in Phase Two of Cooper’s reopening plan since May 22. Most businesses, including retail establishments, salons and barber shops, are allowed to serve customers at 50 percent capacity. Restaurants, which had been limited to takeout or delivery service only throughout April and most of May, are allowed to serve dine-in customers while limiting capacity of 50 percent.
The state is planning to stay in Phase Two until at least June 26, when Cooper and the state’s top health officials will examine trends before removing even more social restrictions and moving into Phase Three.
“We are weighing these decisions carefully,” Cooper said, “but we are concerned that a number of our virus metrics are trending upward.”
People freely moving around the state, after Cooper lifted his stay-at-home order last month, plus the recent protests against the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in Minnesota, are spreading the virus, Cooper and Cohen said Monday.
Cohen referred to “super-spreaders” as people who can have no symptoms and spread the virus to many people together in one place. After those people are exposed, they spread the virus into the community.
They encouraged anyone who attended a protest to get tested for COVID-19.
“Even if you’re not having symptoms but you have gone to a mass gathering or a protest, get a test,” Cohen said. “If you work in some of the higher risk settings where you see a lot of foot traffic, like a grocery store or a meat processing plant where we know folks are more close together and there are more risk factors, get proactively tested — even if you’re having no symptoms.”
In addition to recommending anyone who has been in a crowd to get tested, Cooper asked leaders to set a good example and wearing a mask.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Gov. Cooper issues health guidelines for NC schools, says it won’t be a ‘reckless decision’."
