Report: K-12 students can learn in person safely
Metro Wire Staff
Among 17 schools in South Wood County, Wisconsin that implemented measures such as mask-wearing to limit the spread of COVID-19, cases among students and teachers who participated in in-person learning remained low, despite high levels of COVID-19 in the surrounding community.
These are the findings of a study conducted in K-12 schools by Dr. Amy Falk, a pediatrician with Aspirus Doctors Clinic in Wisconsin Rapids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the study’s report on January 26.
In a setting of widespread community transmission, few instances of in-school transmission were identified, with limited spread among children within their cohorts and no documented transmission to or from staff. Even in communities with high rates of disease, schools can implement preventive measures to limit spread and reopen safely for in-person instruction.
“This data indicates that with important safety measures like universal masking, the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in schools appears very low,” Falk said. “Allowing for in-person education is so important to our youth, especially during these difficult times.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted school for children in many parts of the country. From September to November 2020, COVID-19 cases and compliance with mask use were investigated in 4,876 students and 654 staff in 17 K-12 schools in South Wood County.
Schools opened and implemented measures to limit the spread, including wearing masks, establishing groups of 11-20 students, quarantining after exposures, and staff maintaining six feet of distance, if possible. Investigators found that teachers reported more than 92 percent of students used masks.
During 13 weeks of in-person learning, seven students and zero staff were known to get COVID-19 at school. This report suggests even with high community levels (7-40 percent positive tests) of the virus that causes COVID-19, K-12 schools can limit in-school spread by implementing preventive measures.
Click here to view the full report, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report).