The Shadow
RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday announced guidelines for public school students to return to classrooms.
Northam ordered schools to close in March to stop the spread of Coronavirus.
The governor said schools will reopen in phases that will align with his plan to gradually “reopen” the state from the COVID-19 shutdown, based on testing statistics.
Most of Virginia entered Phase II of Northam’s plan June 5. Northern Virginia and Richmond will enter Phase II Friday.
All school divisions will start Phase I this summer.
After plans are submitted to the Virginia Department of Education, most school divisions can enter Phase II, allowing students through third-grade and English learner students at least partially back into the classroom.
Assuming the state enters Phase III of its reopening plan by the start of the next school year, schools could bring all students back in the fall. Phase II will last a minimum of two weeks.
“To be clear, all Virginia schools will open for students next year,” Northam said. “But the school experience will look very different.”
School divisions will be given flexibility on implementing Northam’s guidelines. School divisions will be allowed to stagger classes so students attend in-person some days and remotely others.
Schools must allow for remote learning and teleworking for students and staff at a higher risk of complications from COVID-19.
Schools are expected to perform health screenings for all students and staff when they arrive each day.
Cloth face coverings will be required for staff and students when six feet of physical distance can’t be maintained.
Desks in classrooms must be spaced at least six feet apart and gatherings in areas such as cafeterias will be restricted.
Regional Update
COVID-19 cases in the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts are steadily increasing after hitting a spike in late April.
That’s because the two health districts began seeing COVID-19 cases after they had already occurred in the rest of the state. Currently, 27 percent of new cases in the health districts are among Hispanic populations.
“We got started late and we are seeing it increase, particularly in one segment of the population. That’s the way many pandemics work,” said Dr. John Kerkering, an infectious disease specialist who is affiliated with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke.
Kerkering participated in a Tuesday media briefing with Dr. Molly O’Dell, director of communicable disease prevention for the Roanoke and Alleghany Health Districts.
As of Tuesday, there had been 483 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the districts since the pandemic began. There were 102 active cases Tuesday — 24 of those cases had occurred since last week.
O’Dell reported 12 outbreaks as of Tuesday. Six were in businesses, including a day-care center. Three were in restaurants. Two were in long-term care facilities. One was in a church.
“Since the end of April, it has been a gradual increase. It’s been growing by eight to 18 cases recently,” Kerkering said.
The reproduction rate for COVID-19 is 2.5 to 3 cases for every person infected. Without measures to halt the spread of the virus, the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts could have seen an additional 1,400 to 1,500 cases, with an additional 63 deaths, John Kerkering said.
Both Kerkering and O’Dell said they expect to see increases in COVID-19 cases as the state reopens in phases.
In the two health districts, the median age for persons infected with COVID-19 is 48.9. When the pandemic began in the region, the median age was 55.
“It’s just a younger population of workers,” Kerkering said. “It’s shifted to the younger population because that’s the working population, at this point.”
He said health officials will continue to stress the need for the public to remain diligent by wearing face coverings, maintaining social distancing and practicing good hygiene.
“It worries me that people are not masking like they should. I do see people standing around talking to each other and they are closer than six feet and they are not wearing masks,” Kerkering said.
O’Dell concurred by saying: “People are getting fatigued and they want to go back to normal. Maybe they don’t know someone who has had a serious illness [from COVID-19].”
Local Numbers
Since the pandemic began, there have been 31 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Highlands — 26 in Alleghany County and five in Covington. Bath County still has no confirmed cases.
