ALAMEDA (KRON) – Alameda County health officials announced that they are aligning with state guidelines for reopening schools, which means children could be back in class sooner than later.
Now that the winter surge has started to subside, California updated its school reopening guidelines which determines what grades can return based off of the colored tiered system.
The guidelines stipulate that schools must publicly post their COVID-19 safety plan at least seven business days before the targeted reopening date to be approved.
Currently Alameda County is in California’s purple coronavirus tier, which only allows grades TK-6 to open once the County’s daily adjusted case rate has been below 25 cases per 100,000 people for five consecutive days.
Students in grades 7-12 can return once the county has been in the red tier for five days.
“Schools that implement the State’s COVID-19 public health guidance are in a good position to safely welcome back staff and students for in-classroom instruction,” said Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Nicholas Moss. “Schools and school districts have been preparing for the return of in-classroom learning for months and with the number of daily new cases on the decline in Alameda County, schools should submit their CSPs as soon as they determine they are ready to reopen classrooms.”
Health officials also recommend schools go beyond the state guidelines and promote safety measures that include face coverings, personal hygiene, contact tracing and social distancing.
The Alameda County Public Health Department will review and approve the COVID-19 School Guidance checklist before a school may open, but no other requirements beyond what the State requires will be added at this time. This process replaces the State’s Elementary School Waiver.