THE ABCs OF RETURNING
The number of cases People testing positive Hospitalizations AZ health officials release data benchmarks to help schools determine when to reopen
Arizona schools may rely on COVID-19 case data to greenlight reopening for faceto-face classes under the state’s benchmarks unveiled Thursday.
But if schools choose to follow the suggestions, it could still be at least several weeks before reopening is a serious possibility. The data suggests COVID-19 spread is still substantial in parts of Arizona, according to the state’s own standards.
State officials recommended schools consider the number of COVID-19 cases in their county, along with two other data points. However, schools are not required to use the metrics in their decision-making process.
Schools Superintendent Kathy Hoffman urged school leaders to use the numbers in making their decisions, even as they face mounting pressure from parents to reopen schools.
“This is about making sure that our teachers, our staff, our kids and their families are safe,” she said. “My advice to all of our school leaders is to make sure they’re adhering to these as a matter of public safety.”
Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ and Hoffman announced the new benchmarks.
The state’s plan suggests schools could open with minimal to moderate spread in the community, but should take extensive precautions, such as keeping some students
at home, requiring masks and physical distancing.
Hoffman said communities in Arizona are at least several weeks away from meeting the three benchmarks, based on the current COVID-19 local data.
Schools could completely open, with fewer precautions, when there’s minimal community spread.
The benchmarks could also help schools decide if they need to close later in the year. If any benchmark goes in the red, it’s recommended school leaders switch back to all-remote learning.
The three data benchmarks that will guide school reopening decisions are:
i The number of cases. Schools could open in a limited capacity when the county’s rate of new cases per 100,000 people dips below 100 per week for two weeks, or their is a two-week consecutive decline in cases.
i People testing positive. Schools are recommended to open in a limited capacity when the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 in their county falls below 7%.
i Hospitalizations. Schools could open on a limited basis when the percent of hospital visits caused by COVIDlike illness falls below 10% for two weeks.
The move to base the decision to reopen on benchmarks follows in the footsteps of states like New York, which set a data benchmark based on community infection rates. However, New York gave its schools much more time to respond to the benchmarks than Arizona has.
In late July, Gov. Doug Ducey ordered the Arizona Department of Health Services to come up with coronavirus benchmarks for school leaders, setting an Aug. 7 deadline. Health officials beat that deadline by one day.
Many Arizona students, including in the state’s two largest school districts, Mesa and Chandler, began school this week from home.
Under Ducey’s current executive order, schools must consider the benchmarks set by health officials, along with guidance from county health officials. Schools also must open in some capacity on Aug. 17 for students with no place to go during the day.
Hoffman has said that requirement is to protect vulnerable students and that districts only have to open up one site, or can even partner with an outside organization like the Boys and Girls Club to meet that requirement.
In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Hoffman acknowledged that families are feeling a lot of whiplash. She said the metrics should give them more solid ground around reopening.
“Schools are the best place for our kids to be learning,” Hoffman said.
“However, this is a matter of putting safety ahead of academics.”
Neither of the state’s two largest counties are ready to reopen schools, according to the data. Families can find the data for their county on the state Department of Health Services website. Maricopa County
New cases per 100,000 or two-week decline: Meets benchmark.
Maricopa County’s rate per 100,000 in the past two weeks of data is still more than 100 per 100,000 at 173. However, Maricopa County has seen cases decline for two consecutive weeks.
Positivity rate: Does not meet benchmark.
Maricopa County’s test positivity rate is still above 7%, hovering near 13%, according to the state’s data.
Hospital visits: Does not meet benchmark.
Hospital visits for COVID-like illness have not fallen below 10% for two consecutive weeks in Maricopa County. But the percent in the most recent week is below 10%, at 9%. If the county goes another week below 10%, then it would meet this benchmark.
Pima County
New cases per 100,000 or two-week decline: Meets benchmark.
Pima County has seen a two-week consecutive decline in its rate of cases. The most recent rate is 93 per 100,000.
Positivity rate: Does not meet benchmark.
Pima County’s test positivity rate is still above 7%, hovering near 10%, according to the state’s data.
Hospital visits: Meets benchmarks. Pima County has reported two consecutive weeks of hospital visits due to COVID-like illness below 10%.
If school opens in a limited capacity, they should follow specific precautions under the state’s new guidance.
In this case, Hoffman also said, they should try to follow a hybrid model, where only some students show up to school and others stay at home. Some districts, like Mesa, have already shared how they would execute that kind of plan.
Mesa’s plan would put students in either an ‘A’ group or a ‘B’ group. Students in each group would go to school in person on alternate days, decreasing class sizes.
Face coverings are already required in Arizona schools, under a previous executive order.
Other suggested precautions include:
i Symptom screening, like taking temperatures and making sure any kid who feels sick is sent home.
i Physical distancing, which would include keeping students 6 feet apart.
i Canceling field trips and large gatherings.
i Closing communal spaces like cafeterias and school auditoriums.
Precautions, including providing enough protective equipment for educators and staff members, costs money. Hoffman said the mitigation strategies are recommended, but not required.
Daniel Scarpinato, with the Governor’s Office, said federal funds going to schools through the CARES act should help schools afford items like hand sanitizer and face shields.
“We will do whatever is necessary to make sure that schools can manage through this,” Scarpinato said.
According to the state’s guidance, “schools should set a low threshold for sending students or staff members home if illness is suspected.”
If anyone develops symptoms while at school, they should be removed from group settings immediately and isolated until they can leave school.
Schools must report an outbreak of COVID-19 to their local health department.
An outbreak is defined as two or more students or staff not living in the same household testing positive within a 14-day period.
The decision to close a school, in the case of an outbreak, is up to local school leaders. Arizona does not mandate a school shut down in the case of an outbreak.
Whether parents will be notified when a student or teacher is ill will likely come down to the county where the school is located.
Jeanene Fowler, with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, wrote in an email that Maricopa would contact any individual who may have been exposed — that could mean notifications might be contained to a specific classroom.
The state’s new guidance includes a graphic that demonstrates how different school might be for students when they return under precautions. It also illustrates how isolated students might be during the school day, sitting staggered at lunch and distanced at recess.
Students will have to enter the bus from the back and sit alone or with family members.
At school, they’ll be checked for symptoms. In class, they’ll sit 6 feet apart. They’ll only be allowed to use their lockers at scheduled times so hallways aren’t crowded.
They’ll wash their hands before and after recess. They’ll try to avoid the drinking fountains and sit staggered at lunch time.
Their parents will pick them up at alternate times. At home, they’ll remove the mask they wore all day. They’ll wash their hands.