The growing consensus that schools do not contribute to the spread of COVID-19 is complicated by the exacerbation of the surge.National

Two US studies published in recent weeks provide some of the first evidence that schools in areas with low to moderate COVID-19 exposure have not contributed to community expansion.

Researchers believe that COVID-19 can spread to schools at the same rate as it spreads to larger communities, not at greater speeds. Data from Michigan and Washington.

“I’m not saying that the school is a magical place to check COVID at the door,” she said in an email.

“If there is a COVID in the community, the school probably has one. The more you ensure that the school does not infect COVID (tests, masks, hygiene, social distance), the more likely it is that COVID will occur. It will be lower. Enlarge. “

Dr. Howard Taras, a pediatrician at the University of California, San Diego, who advises the reopening of local schools, shows that schools can adhere to social distance, universal face masks, and proper ventilation requirements. There was almost no outbreak.

To date, San Diego County has identified 19 COVID outbreaks in schools from kindergarten to high school out of a total of 936 outbreaks. Most of the county’s school districts opened in the fall, but the largest school district, San Diego Unified and several other school districts, are still closed.

School reopening did not increase COVID-19 hospitalizations in counties with 36 to less than 44 new COVID hospitalizations per 100,000 people per week, according to another study from Tulane University based on national data.

This study states that schools can and should be opened to stop the increasing damage to children’s academic, mental, social and physical well-being caused by school closures, parents and pediatrics. It seems that they support discussions by experts in the field.

The findings also address concerns that some districts remain closed because authorities believed they would increase the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community if schools reopened. ..

One of the studies has given credibility to that concern.

Studies in Michigan and Washington have shown that schools contribute to the spread of COVID-19 when the virus is spreading at a high rate in the community.

“If the proportion of the community is too high, there may be little school can do to mitigate the risk,” Strunk said.

In a Michigan and Washington survey, schools offering “hybrid” instruction did not contribute to the spread of COVID-19, even at high community levels, Strunk said.

Hybrid instruction means that students study directly part-time and online part-time. This is a strategy to reduce the number of students in the school building or classroom at one time.

According to experts, students have more space to stay socially distant, so reducing their capacity helps reduce the risk of infection.

According to Strunk, there are major caveats to the Michigan and Washington studies.

One: The survey was based on data collected by November, before the nationwide COVID-19 surge, so the results of the survey may differ based on current information. ..

2: This study was conducted before a new, more contagious coronavirus variant was identified in the United States.

The school’s research is important, but it becomes less relevant as school staff are vaccinated and schools can frequently test students for COVID-19, Taras said. Even if the community’s COVID rate remains high, both help significantly reduce the risk of the virus spreading in schools, he said.

“Like all of COVID-19, the set of recommendations is very short-lived,” he said in an email.

“As asymptomatic virus screening in student populations becomes more prevalent and staff vaccination becomes more common (and both trends can progress within a few weeks), the relevance of this study is rapid. Will drop to. “

Teachers and other school staff are expected to line up in the next line of COVID-19 vaccination. However, it is unclear how long it will take for a state or county to vaccinate.

In a Wednesday letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, San Diego Unified and six other large California school districts said they were skeptical of plans to lower the standards by which schools could resume from their current seven new COVIDs daily. Was–19 cases / 100,000 to 28 per 100,000.

Leaders of some teachers unions have stated that 28 is too expensive to reopen school. Some districts questioned why Newsom settled on the 28th.

Many experts say it is difficult to set one case rate as a threshold for resuming school.

Dr. Robert Scourley, an infectious disease expert, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and adviser on the resumption of San Diego Unified, said:

“It makes people uncomfortable, especially those who want to be told if we’ve reached this, but the number is often very contextual,” he said.

“All of this changes as the epidemic situation changes, so it’s important not only to respond to triggers, but to collect and respond to data and large amounts of data.”

According to a survey in Michigan and Washington, the Washington community had more than 5 new COVID cases per 100,000 people per day, and Michigan had more than 21 cases per 100,000 people.

However, Strunk said that these case rates were averaged in each state and did not take into account uncollected data, such as differences between COVID-19 and what is happening in schools, such as differences in school safety measures. Said.

Taras said the 28 case rate requirements per 100,000 for Newsum to reopen school are okay.

But he doesn’t think schools should expand reopening and offer more than “book-based” learning to several children at once until the case rate drops.

“The trajectory (of the COVID spread) is as important as its only benchmark value,” Taras said.

(C) 2021 San Diego Union Tribune

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