Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Montco schools ordered to go virtual for 2 weeks
NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County public and private schools K- 12 must move to an all- virtual or remote learning model for a two- week period around the Thanksgiving holiday to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus under a plan approved by county health officials.
The five- member county Board of Health voted unanimously on Friday to impose a two- week pause, from Nov. 23 to Dec. 6, on in- person instruction and extracurricular activities, including sports and sports practices, at all public and private schools.
The requirement includes virtual education only for special education.
Schools can resume in- person instruction on Dec. 7, under the approved Montgomery County School COVID- 19 Risk Reduction and Mitigation Order. Taking the Thanksgiving holiday into account, for most students, it will mean eight days of virtual learning.
“The implementation of virtual schools during the period of peak contagion is designed to reduce the spread of COVID- 19 and is essential to ensure the protection of children, teachers, school staff and others who are impacted, as well as those in the general community,” Michael B. Laign, chairman of the board of health, read the order.
The board’s decision came after nearly 500 people tuned into the board’s virtual meeting on Thursday and weighed- in on the plan to halt in- person instruction and sports in schools for two weeks. The board heard about 60 public comments, with all but a few voicing objections to the proposal.
Some residents urged officials to approve a recommendation to school districts but to allow individual districts to make the appropriate decisions. Others voiced support for the proposal saying, “health must come before education.”
Board member and pediatrician Dr. Francis Jeyaraj said he appreciated the opinions expressed by parents
and understood their concerns.
“But this is a difficult time for all of us. It’s a total community effort. Just even as we talk, close to 250,000 people have died in this great country,” Jeyaraj said Friday.
“We’re trying to anticipate, we’re trying to think ahead. We’re trying to put our county in the best position possible,” board member Dr. Martin Trichtinger added. “I look at this as a way to try and keep our children in the schools as long as possible.”
Board member Barbara Wadsworth, senior vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer at Main Line Health, said four weeks ago there were 33 COVID- 19 patients in Main Line Health’s four hospitals and on Friday there were 106.
“The rate of spread has gone up dramatically. When you get to a rate of substantial transmission there’s recommendations about what we should do. I think what we’re doing to mitigate the risk is really important. It’s difficult and certainly not easy, but I think if we don’t do this, then we will be in a significantly worse situation post- Thanksgiving holiday,” Wadsworth said.
The decision also comes on the advice of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Policy Lab.
Steven Katz, a non- medical board member, said he listened to parents “loud and clear.”
“I hear the pain points, I understand them. On the other hand, I have listened and learned from the medical professionals and looked at the data and I think if we try and keep the schools open and push through this thing that it will be far more disastrous than if we take proactive actions and try and head this thing off at the pass,” Katz said. “I’m convinced this is the right thing to do.”
C ounty Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, during a COVID19 briefing on Thursday, explained the theory behind the proposal.
“Given what we have been seeing since Halloween we’re deeply concerned about a significant spike of cases following Thanksgiving,” Arkoosh said. “I want to make this clear, we are not trying to close schools for the duration here. We are advising to take a pause around the Thanksgiving holiday and go to virtual education in the hopes that it will protect the students, the teachers and staff so that they can come back in- person.”
The overall 14- day COVID19 positivity rate for the county, as of Nov. 7, was 5.45%, which was an increase from the 4.39% positivity rate for the 14day period ending Oct. 30.
Health officials believe having a positivity rate less than 5% indicates the county is controlling the spread of the virus and keeping it suppressed.
A review of daily positivity rates from Oct. 25 to Nov. 7 showed the county was above 5% on nine days.
Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health listed the county has having “substantial transmission and concerning percent- positivity.”
State health officials have recommended schools switch to a virtual model if a county is determined
to have a “substantial” level of community transmission for two consecutive weeks. However, the state leaves the ultimate decision to local officials.
“(Health officials) believe, based on what we’ve seen with prior holidays and what we saw after Halloween, that if people go directly back to school after that Thanksgiving holiday, the chances are that there will be a lot of people who are infectious, asymptomatic, and could trigger a very substantial outbreak within our schools,” Arkoosh explained.
“So we’re trying to protect our schools for just a short time with eight days of virtual learning to get us through a holiday where we think it’s very likely that many, many people are going to gather despite everyone’s best recommendations not to. We’re encouraging people not to do it but we encouraged it at Halloween too and obviously it didn’t work. So we have to assume worst case here and do what we can to protect these schools so that they can come back in- person,” said Arkoosh, who supported the board of health’s order.
The goal, Arkoosh said, is to help ensure that students, teachers and staff who may be exposed to COVID- 19 over the holiday have a week to learn that they’ve been exposed while still at home and out of the school environment.
“The success of this effort will hinge on everyone involved saying ‘ No’ to private social gatherings,” Arkoosh said. “By reducing the number of individuals who come to school with the coronavirus we maximize the chances that the excellent work that the schools have been doing to limit in- school transmission will continue to be successful.”
Arkoosh said those districts that have been offering in- person education have been doing an incredible job under very diffi cult circumstances.
“I believe it’s our job as a community to support them in this work and keep the amount of virus in our community as low as possible so that what they’re doing can continue to be successful,” Arkoosh said.
Between Sept. 7 and Nov. 11, officials revealed on Thursday, 268 students tested positive for COVID19.
“This transmission, with two exceptions, is happening outside of the academic school day at social gatherings, travel sports and sports leagues. This activity is putting in- school education of our children at serious risk,” Arkoosh said.
Additionally, at least 100 staff members in the county’s schools have tested positive for COVID- 19.
“In order to keep the schools open there must be replacement staff for these individuals while they are recovering. Our Montgomery County superintendents have made it very clear to me that there are no longer any substitute teachers available to hire and the pool of certifi ed bus drivers has been exhausted,” Arkoosh explained. “If we do not get suppression of this virus, the schools, due to lack of staff , will be functionally closed.”