Health Officer has guidance regarding school reopening

||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT |||

San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James recently released up to date guidance to local school district leadership to better guide and support their decision making about the reopening of schools.

The full text of that letter is available online here.

Dr. James explains the purpose of this letter, “These are very complex and difficult decisions that schools are facing. My  goal is to provide useful guidance to them, but I want to be clear that my recommendations are not a mandate for schools to reopen. Each school and school district will need to make their own individual evaluation of their ability to reopen safely and successfully.”

Regarding his recommendations around athletics, Dr. James says his intent is to be a bit more directive in his guidance, “At this time, I think that conducting any indoor sports, including weight training, is premature and risky. While State guidance allows for some indoor activities, my assessment is that given the rise of more infectious variants of the disease, and the ongoing need to avoid community spread, all athletics should be limited to outdoors only. In relation to outdoor sports, the Governor’s guidance is wise and useful and may be found on page 3 of this document.”

It is important to note that Dr. James’ recommendations may evolve as the situation changes. Any updates will be clearly communicated to both the schools and the community in writing.

In conclusion, Dr. James highlights the importance of this issue, “Reopening our schools is vital to society. It needs to be done safely and it should be done incrementally so we can assess results. My hope is that islanders will continue to do all they can to minimize their travel and their social activities, thus helping to ensure a safe school reopening. I want to commend our local schools for all they have done and continue to do to make prudent and well-considered decisions, even in the face of considerable pressure from both sides of the discussion.”