NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Students will be wearing face masks and washing their hands many times a day when Louisiana schools reopen for the 2020-21 school year in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Those are among requirements that were set by and will be enforced by the Louisiana Department of Health, Education Superintendent Cade Brumley said during a news conference after his department released two pages of reopening health requirements and another 14 of suggestions.
Asked about authority for requiring masks in public schools and whether the department could enforce it in private schools, Brumley said, “Our understanding is the Department of Health has the authority to regulate these decisions at every school in the state of Louisiana.”
Health department spokeswoman Aly Neel said she was working on a response to an email requesting comment.
Whether there’s band and chorus will depend on the state’s reopening status - or the parish’s, if that’s more restrictive.
School systems need to have plans for all-classroom, all-distance and hybrid teaching. If possible, they should have a laptop or tablet for every student and ensure that all students can connect to the internet, the document said.
Brumley said schools must follow the health department’s rules; the rest are “best practices” suggestions for which each district has the final say.
Adults and students need to wash their hands at least every two hours, including when they arrive and leave and before and after eating or using outdoor play equipment, the requirements state.
Students in preschool through second grade don’t have to wear masks, and people with severe breathing problems shouldn’t wear them, the guidelines note. Otherwise, they should be worn everywhere, including classrooms.
“Any child over age two may wear a face covering,” the guidelines stated.
Asked why children need to wear masks when few have died, Brumley said, “Students go home. If they do carry the virus, they can transmit it to family and friends at home.”
Many aspects of the plan depend on the state’s reopening phase. For instance, band and chorus will be allowed once the state goes into phase 3. Maximum group sizes — including adults — would be limited to 25 people if the state is still in phase 2 when schools reopen. If it’s in phase 3, they could be up to 50 people. If the state has to revert to phase 1, the limit would be 10.
“We are obviously hopeful that once schools open in August we will be in phase 3,” Brumley said.
He said contact and high-risk sports would be forbidden if the state is in phase 1 or 2. In phase 3, he said, athletics will be covered by Louisiana High School Athletic Association guidelines.
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Monday that the current phase 2 restrictions will last at least until July 24 because of an increase in cases.
He made that official Thursday, extending the limitations on churches, restaurants, bars, retailers, gyms and other businesses he enacted June 5. The Democratic governor also added a new restriction, limiting indoor gatherings to no more than 250 people.
If those restrictions are still in effect when schools reopen, local districts will probably go to hybrid classroom and distance learning plans because buses would be able to operate only at half capacity, Brumley said. If the state goes into phase 3, buses could take 75% the allowed maximum and schools would be more likely to go all-classroom, he said.
Brumley also said the department is asking all systems to have plans for distance education of students whose parents feel it is unsafe for them to return to school. Several have done so, he said.
Hours after the guidelines were made public, the Louisiana Department of Health reported that 53,415 people in the state have tested positive for the disease. That’s 938 more than Wednesday and comes after daily increases of more than 1,300 and more than 880.
Hospitalizations also are on the rise, from 631 Wednesday to 653 on Thursday. And 12 more people have died from the disease, bringing the toll to at least 3,051.
For most people, the highly contagious coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up within weeks. But for some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe or fatal illness.
___
Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.