West Virginia releases back-to-school COVID-19 guidance

(The Center Square) – With the new school year less than a month away, the West Virginia Department of Education released guidance, which touched on protocols to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

West Virginia schools will start the school year in person five days per week and the COVID-19 mitigation measures will generally be left to the local school boards’ discretion. However, the department provided the schools with guidance and strongly encouraged them to adopt it.

The state encouraged the schools to ensure they have adequate hygiene supplies for staff and older students, such as soap, hand sanitizer, paper towels and tissues. The guidance suggests they audit necessary supplies and supply chains and assign duties for cleaning and disinfecting to prevent the spread of disease, especially for high-touch surfaces. It also encourages the schools to teach and reinforce hygiene etiquette, such as hand washing, covering one’s mouth when sneezing or coughing and cleaning one’s hands after using a tissue.

Schools are also encouraged to develop plans regarding classroom size, event sizes and social distancing. The department also encouraged school boards to review social distancing rules and noted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 3-feet social distancing.

The department also suggested schools adopt quarantine protocols for students, staff and faculty who have COVID-19, those who come in contact with someone who has COVID-19 and those who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. It also encouraged them to develop contact tracing protocols to determine who came in contact with a student who contracted the virus.

“We’ve heard the Governor, our State Board President Miller Hall, and others talk about the toll that [the pandemic] took on our children, our families, our educators, service personnel, and all those related to the school system,” Superintendent Clayton Burch said in a statement. “We’re glad to be back. We know we want consistent time for our children to be in school. We want to make sure that families know that we do still have virtual school options available, but that consistent daily connection to the teachers is the most important thing.”

Gov. Jim Justice has also made vaccinations a part of his strategy within schools. Currently, all students who are at least 12 years old are eligible to receive the vaccine. It has not yet been approved for younger children.

The governor is offering incentives for the schools to support student vaccination. He will award $50,000 to four elementary schools, four middle schools and four high schools that get the highest percentage of eligible students and staff vaccinated. It will apply to both public and private schools.

“If you don’t want an interruption in your school year, in your sports programs, and everything else, you’ve got to get vaccinated,” Justice said. “It’s incredibly safe and it’s the absolute best answer that we have.”

School athletics will have the same guidelines as last year and the state is encouraging players and coaches to get vaccinated.

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