Pa. health officials clarify mask rule for schools
The Pennsylvania departments of health and education have updated a state order requiring masks and facial coverings for students as communities start reopening schools across the commonwealth.
The update is based on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ updated guidance strongly recommending that children age 2 and older wear face coverings at all times to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
According to the state’s new guidelines, schools may allow students age 2 and older to remove face coverings, including face shields, for only three reasons:
• When eating or drinking spaced at least 6 feet apart.
•When wearing a face covering creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task.
• During “face-covering breaks” limited to 10 minutes spaced at least 6 feet apart.
According to the Department of Education’s website, the new mask rule must be implemented by all school districts “immediately” prior to the start of their school year.
Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine called this update a “clarification” of the earlier guidelines released by the state. Some districts had understood previous guidance to allow mask removal when people were more than 6 feet apart.
“What we’ve heard is that some of the language wasn’t as clear as it could be, and so we wanted to make sure we were as clear as possible,” she said in a press conference Tuesday morning. “Everybody should wear a mask when they’re in public and that, of course, includes children in school.
“It is very clear that young people can spread this virus, and we want to protect against anybody getting sick but particularly outbreaks, and so that’s my biggest concern,” Dr. Levine noted.
“We all understand this is a fluid situation, things change as the virus continues its path,” said Mark DiRocco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators. “But the sand shifting beneath the feet of school leaders
makes it frustrating to deal with . ... It’s hard to make plans when things change on a weekly basis.”
Many Pennsylvania school districts are planning a full return to the classroom this fall, according to data released Monday by the state Department of Education, though that could change after state health and education officials issued new reopening guidance last week.
Some 657 school districts, public charter schools and career and technical centers have submitted their reopening plans to the state, and 35%, or about 230, have indicated they plan to bring students back to class five days a week, the Education Department said.
About a quarter plan to start the year virtually, while more than 40% plan to offer a combination of remote and in-person instruction.
Some of the districts’ plans were submitted before the Wolf administration issued its latest reopening guidance, which says full, in-person instruction should be reserved for students in counties with a very low rate of new COVID-19 cases.
Some districts have already changed their reopening plans in response to the guidance, and others are expected to follow suit before the start of the school year, education officials said.
“This is going to be very fluid, and what districts think they’re going to do may look a lot different two weeks into the future based on transmission rates,” Mr. DiRocco said.
The Department of Health also announced on Tuesday that a virus tracking app would be available to Pennsylvania residents beginning in September.
Called “COVID Alert PA,” the voluntary app uses “exposure notification” smartphone technology developed by Apple and Google to alert users when they have been in close contact for more than 15 minutes with someone who has tested positive.
The app doesn’t replace case investigators or contact tracers, rather it works to increase the number of people they can contact and enhances mitigation efforts, according to the department.
It allows for more accuracy in isolating close contacts for situations where the person may not know who their close contact was — like from waiting in lines at the pharmacy or grocery stores.
“Sometimes it is difficult to recount every step of your day, and who you may have spent more than 15 minutes with in close contact,” Dr. Levine said. “That’s where COVID Alert comes in. This app will be one part of that process and one piece of the puzzle to help contain the spread.”
The state has not yet released how the information from the app will be stored or managed. Those using the app will remain anonymous and voluntary, according to the state health department.
In April, when Apple and Google announced they were working on a virus tracking app, the American Civil Liberties Union released a statement addressing its concerns over the availability and trustworthiness of such an app.
“No contact tracing app can be fully effective until there is widespread, free, and quick testing and equitable access to health care,” Jennifer Granick, of the ACLU surveillance and cyber security counsel, said in the statement. “These systems also can’t be effective if people don’t trust them. People will only trust these systems if they protect privacy, remain voluntary, and store data on an individual’s device, not a centralized repository. At the same time, we must be realistic that such contact tracing methods are likely to exclude many vulnerable members of society who lack access to technology and are already being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.”