Many schools in the US would normally welcome students in the classroom today, but decided to delay the resumption of classes after the Christmas break for a few days so that students and teachers could test for covid-19 as the coronavirus variant Omicron strains the country. .
In the federal capital, Washington, all staff and 51,000 public school students will have to post a negative covid-19 test on the district’s website before returning to class on Wednesday. Results submitted before Tuesday will not be accepted, authorities warned. Parents can take tests at the schools where their children attend or use what they already have.
Extensive testing efforts are under way in California, with state authorities pledging to provide free home tests to all 6 million elementary and high school students in public schools.
“There’s a lot of covid out there (…) it’s going to be a difficult start,” said Michelle Smith MacDonald, communications director for Alamenda County Education.
An average of 400,000 new infections have been reported in the United States in recent days, mainly due to the highly contagious Omicron strain. Experts predict that even more people will test positive for covid-19 after the Christmas and New Year rallies, forcing millions of people to be quarantined in the coming weeks.
Schools from Massachusetts to Michigan and the state of Washington are delaying classes for a few days and are asking staff and students to take advantage of this opportunity to take diagnostic tests.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said closing the state’s schools should be the last resort. But school principals are worried about having enough teachers and staff.
“Individual schools are likely to close, either due to an outbreak or a lack of staff,” MacDonald said.
Under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, California has reduced the quarantine period for those who have been exposed to a case in five days, from ten.
Scientists and health workers are concerned that the new policy does not distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated people who recover from the virus at different rates. A test is also not required to confirm that the person is no longer contagious before the end of quarantine.
Authorities in California are advising citizens to take a negative test before quarantining and other states, such as Illinois, have not adopted the new CDC guidelines.
When asked about this, the leading American epidemiologist Anthony Fauci said yesterday, Sunday, that the CDC will soon clarify whether those infected with covid-19 should have a negative test to end the quarantine.
How much Omicron will affect the country’s schools will probably not be clear until next week. Parents and school principals are already finding it difficult to follow the changing instructions and understand how many doses of covid-19 vaccine staff and older students should have received in order to be considered fully immunized.
Although preliminary evidence suggests that Omicron is milder than other coronavirus strains, Fauci warned that the number of treatments in the United States could increase significantly as Omicron spreads rapidly.
In just over three weeks, the number of patients being treated for covid-19 in the United States has increased by 50% nationwide, according to a Reuters report.
Delaware, Maryland, Ohio and the federal capital, Washington, are currently receiving more covid hospitalizations than any other pandemic. Delaware and Ohio have mobilized members of the National Guard in hospitals in an effort to address the growing number of patients.
Schools in New York City, the largest district of the United States, open normally today, but with more tests for the nearly one million students. And instead of quarantining the whole class, when a case is found the students will undergo a rapid test for the next seven days.
New York Mayor Eric Adams called on parents “not to be afraid” as they send their children back to school.
“The safest place for children is school. The number of cases is small “, he assured yesterday, speaking on the show” This Week “of ABC.
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