As the new school year begins, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has relaxed its guidelines for COVID-19.
“We’re in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools – like vaccination, boosters, and treatments – to protect ourselves, and our communities, from severe illness from COVID-19,” Dr. Greta Massetti, one of the authors of the CDC’s updated guidance, said in a statement. “This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives.”
The new guidelines, released Thursday, mainly impact quarantining, social distancing, and testing.
One significant change in the CDC guidelines is that the agency is no longer advising students or staff members who are exposed to the virus to quarantine at home.
That will allow them to stay in the classroom even after an exposure, as long as they wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and get tested after five days.
That goes for vaccinated and unvaccinated students and staff.
The new guidelines also dropped requirements to stay at least six feet away from other people, with the CDC noting that an estimated 95% of Americans have at least some kind of immunity to the coronavirus through infection or vaccination, or both.
The CDC has dropped its cohorting recommendation, which called for students in different classrooms to avoid mixing.
Additionally, the CDC eliminated its “test-to-stay” recommendation, which allowed students who were close contacts of a person with COVID to continue to attend school in-person if they had no symptoms and tested negative. With quarantining no longer advised, test-to-stay isn’t necessary, the CDC said.
The agency also said that schools should no longer conduct COVID-19 routine testing for asymptomatic or unexposed students. Instead, the CDC said, schools should focus on testing in response to an outbreak, high community spread, or high-risk activities at the school, such as proms, field trips, or large sports events.
One thing that did not change in the new CDC guidelines was its recommendations for how schools should handle community outbreaks and masking.
The guidance still suggests that schools located in communities experiencing high levels of spread should continue to require all school staff and employees to wear masks.
As of Monday, Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties are among 40 counties experiencing medium levels of COVID-19 transmission. Statewide, 10 counties are experiencing high levels of COVID-19 transmission, while 17 counties are in low transmission.
Dr. Jesse Wallace III, superintendent of Laurel Highlands School District, is hopeful that the CDC’s new guidelines indicate that school districts are slowly returning back to normal. He said the school district still prioritizes health and safety protocols.
“The truth of the matter is that COVID is still with us and there are people still getting sick, so we continue with our health and safety plan, which we address every six months,” said Wallace. “It’s nice to know the six feet of social distancing is something they’ve done away with, and quarantining for close contact is eliminated, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure our people feel safe.”
Face masks are optional for the 2022-23 school year.
“We’re ready to ready to continue, with a productive learning environment,” said Wallace, noting the district will address learning gaps and social and emotional issues that arose during the pandemic. “It helps, though, that the CDC recommendations help the community, students and staff feel like we’re one step closer to getting through this.”
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten welcomed the CDC’s new safety guidelines.
“Every educator and every parent starts every school year with great hope, and this year even more so. After two years of uncertainty and disruption, we need as normal a year as possible so we can focus like a laser on what kids need,”said Weingarten. “COVID-19 and other viruses are still with us, but with multiple prevention and treatment options available, now is not the time for new mandates. Instead, let’s ensure these tools are available and accessible: vaccines, testing and masks (and no stigma for those who mask).”
