Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Gov. Beshear Says Anti-Mask Kentucky School Leaders 'Endangering Children'
AP: Beshear Slams School Leaders That Refuse To Require Masks
Kentucky’s governor on Thursday berated school leaders who refuse to extend mask requirements, accusing them of endangering children at a time the coronavirus is raging throughout the state. ... “If you are a school district that is not requiring universal masking, you are directly endangering the children, the staff ... everybody who is in each of your buildings,” [Gov. Andy] Beshear said at a news conference. “And it is an inexcusable decision. Every single public health agency, every one, has said that universal masking is the only way to keep kids in school.” (Schreiner and Blackburn, 9/16)
The Oregonian: 900 Students, Staff Quarantined After 4 COVID-19 Cases Amid Reynolds High School Closure
Classrooms at Reynolds High School sat empty Thursday as officials identified at least 901 students and staff potentially exposed to COVID-19, triggering by far the largest school shutdown statewide during Oregon’s worst wave of the pandemic. District officials chose to halt in-person learning for seven school days at Oregon’s second-largest high school, sending more than 2,600 students into online learning starting next week. (Zarkhin, 9/16)
Oklahoman: Oklahoma Health Department Launches In-School COVID-19 Testing Program
Oklahoma school districts will be able to opt into a program to provide free, in-school COVID-19 testing, the state Health Department announced Thursday. The program launched this week in partnership with the state Department of Education and is funded through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deputy health commissioner Keith Reed said at a news conference. It is an optional program: School districts can choose to opt in to the program, and parents can opt-in their children for COVID-19 testing at districts that have opted in the program, Reed said. (Branham, 9/16)
Los Angeles Times: Declining COVID-19 Cases Indicate Safe L.A. School Openings
The early weeks of fully opened Los Angeles County schools have coincided with declining pediatric coronavirus cases, the first indication campuses are generally operating safely without a troubling number of outbreaks. Citing the low number of coronavirus outbreaks in schools, public health officials on Thursday announced that schools in L.A. County will no longer be automatically required to send unvaccinated students home to quarantine for at least seven days after their last contact with an individual who tests positive. (Gomez, Lin II and Money, 9/16)
Philadelphia Inquirer: How Are Schools Deciding To Close Due To COVID-19 Cases? It All Depends
Philadelphia health officials say schools must temporarily shut down if they record six COVID-19 cases over the course of 14 days, which was the decision at Richmond Elementary and Emlen Elementary in the school district, and Lindley Academy and Pan American Academy charter schools. Suburban Pennsylvania counties don’t appear to have a similar rule, though Montgomery County officials said they were referring schools to state Department of Health guidelines, which say closure “may be recommended” if a school’s cases surpass 5% of its population — or it experiences “three simultaneous outbreaks” in classrooms, sports teams or activities. (Hanna, Gantz and Burney, 9/16)
CNN: Florida Chiropractor Signed Hundreds Of Mask Exemption Forms For Students, Pushing The District To Update Its Mask Policy
A school district in Sarasota County, Florida, has tightened its mask policy after a chiropractor signed hundreds of medical exemption forms that allowed students to opt out of wearing masks in schools, officials said. The Sarasota County School Board had voted in August to implement a 90-day mandatory mask policy for students, employees, visitors and vendors, with exceptions for medical reasons or if wearing a face mask would not be consistent with a student's Individualized Education Plan. Then on September 1, the district updated its policy to only accept medical exemption forms from licensed medical doctors, osteopathic physicians or advanced registered nurse practitioners, Superintendent Brennan Asplen said in a letter to families and employees. (Kaye and Elamroussi, 9/16)
In higher-education news —
The Boston Globe: UMass-Amherst Reports 371 COVID-19 Cases Two Weeks Into Classes
After two weeks of classes, a COVID-19 outbreak at UMass-Amherst, one of the only Massachusetts universities that does not require mandatory weekly testing, has shot from 149 to 371, according to data published Thursday by the school. Administrators say they expected an early increase in positive COVID-19 cases, and they’re confident the university’s vaccination requirement, mask mandate, and social distancing protocols will keep students safe. The school says 96.6 percent of its combined student, staff and faculty population of 29,300 is vaccinated. (Alanez and Carlin, 9/16)
Athens Banner-Herald: COVID-19 Cases Declining At UGA, Other Georgia College Campuses
New cases of COVID-19 on University System of Georgia campuses started to come down this week after increasing at the beginning of the fall semester. The number of positive tests reported at nine schools – including the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech – declined this week, mirroring a trend that occurred at the same time last year. (Williams, 9/16)
