State officials, unions weigh additional school COVID-19 protocols

Educators who want to keep schools open have advocated for more COVID-19 safety protocols, but the fate of their suggestions is up in the air.

Schools this week have faced an uphill battle to reopening, as an alarming COVID surge, related staff shortages and on Wednesday, inclement weather, have stood in the way of children’s return to classes. But teachers and state officials are still ironing out how to address the COVIDrelated obstacles to in-person learning.

“What we’ve seen is a real lack of a plan,” Kate Dias, the president of the Connecticut Education Association, said.

At a press conference earlier this week, a coalition representing more than 60,000 public school employees laid out a ninepoint plan to keep schools safe, including a requirement for N95 masks. The state’s largest teachers union cited data that 60 percent of its members reported a lack of access to the more protective masks.

Officials who tout the benefits of the gold-standard masks have stopped short of requiring them, though research has shown disparities between cloth, surgical and N95 masks.

“We’ve recognized the importance of and value of having highquality masks available to people, particularly given how transmissible this variant is,” Josh Geballe, the state’s chief operating officer, said at a news conference on COVID-19 school safety guidance.

Geballe on Tuesday encouraged front line workers to access the more than 3.2 million N95 masks that had been distributed statewide.

The coalition also urged the state to adopt new ways to monitor students and staff before they enter schools. They suggested temperature checks be taken outside, and anyone with a fever or exhibiting other symptoms not be let inside the buildings.

The Department of Public Health expressed reservations about that policy.

“Overall, we know that although fever is certainly one indicator, these outdoor screening checks, where these thermometers may not function optimally and also create a lot of backlog in terms of students being able to get into the school, is certainly problematic,” said public health commissioner Manisha Juthani.

Symptom tracking has become increasingly important in Connecticut schools, as state guidance has shifted away from contact tracing and stringent quarantine protocols.

“We are asking people to be very vigilant about any symptoms at this point,” Juthani said. “Because quite frankly, when you have this amount of prevalence of disease in a community — although there are other viruses circulating right now as well — we know that if something walks like a duck and looks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”

Many other mitigation strategies remain in place, including vaccines and booster doses.

On Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont said almost all teachers have been double vaccinated and “the vast majority” have also received their booster shots. The education department did not respond to a request for that data in time for publication.

“We are taking a look in some situations where we can work together to make sure we get 100 percent participation when it comes to the boosters, but give us a little time as we work through on that,” Lamont said.

The governor added most older children have been vaccinated, too, though the doses have been less widespread among the more recently eligible students.

“Younger kids, not as much yet. It’s just been opening up,” Lamont said.