New CDC guidelines for reopening schools

(KYMA, KECY)-The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releases new guidelines for students, teachers, and staff to return to school in fall 2020.

CDC says the guidelines include the following:

• Engage and encourage everyone in the school and the community to practice preventive behaviors. These are the most important actions that will support schools’ safe reopening and will help them stay open.
• Implement social distancing, cloth face coverings, hand hygiene, and use of cohorting.
• Communicate, educate, and reinforce appropriate hygiene and social distancing practices in ways that are developmentally appropriate for students, teachers, and staff.
• Maintain healthy environments (e.g., cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces).
• Develop a proactive plan for when a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19.
• Develop ongoing channels of communication with state and local health departments to stay updated on COVID-19 transmission and response in your local area.

"CDC does not currently recommend universal symptom screenings (screening all students grades K-12) be conducted by schools," the guidelines read.

"Parents or caregivers should be strongly encouraged to monitor their children for signs of infectious illness every day," they add. "Students who are sick should not attend school in person."

In Arizona, Health Services Department will develop guidelines that school districts and local public health officials can use to determine if it is safe to do so.

The health guidelines will be released by August 7 and contain specific metrics many school officials had sought to make decisions on the safety of opening schools. 

To read more of the guidelines, click here.