Opinion on In-Person Classes During the Pandemic
Opening schools during the pandemic, if done, must be done with an abundance of care, based on the best possible scientific evidence, to maintain the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff, especially in the absence of broadly available effective treatments and vaccines. The terrible rise of COVID-19 infections and deaths leads us overwhelmingly to the opinion that schools should not be fully open while pandemic conditions exist. We are aware that knowledge of the COVID-19 virus is evolving and that the suggestions below may require updating and further investigation by individuals and institutions given the best verifiable information at the time.
In detailed consultation with medical professionals, and aided by an extensive review of reliably sourced information, we offer the following recommendations regarding in-person instruction:
Only schools which actively and consistently employ all these safety procedures, supported by overpowering evidence, should be considered operating under reasonable safety precautions:
- Facemasks and face shields must be provided to all school employees and must be worn at all times completely covering the nose and the mouth. Not doing so spreads the virus.
- Facemasks must be provided to all students who are required to wear them completely covering the nose and the mouth on campus with no exceptions
- Social distancing of at least a 6 ft. radius around everyone in a classroom. This is not possible in any school if full attendance in a normal class schedule is implemented
- Necessary sanitizing materials are provided to every occupied space, used properly, and replenished in timely fashion to employ current CDC guidelines for cleaning facility surfaces in every occupied space daily
- Daily infection screening for all persons as they enter campus
- Testing for infections and quarantines from campus for positive results as needed or indicated
- Accommodations made for teachers, students, and staff who may have any risk factors for a dangerous coronas virus infection so that they may work off campus 100% of the time
- Factoring the existing local area infection conditions to inform all safe practices and operations including school closures and staged, safe-practice re-openings