NORRISTOWN Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — As schools get ready to open their doors to students in the next few weeks, health officials say COVID-19 protocols are more focused on limiting outbreaks than trying to prevent the spread of the virus.
Montgomery County Office of Public Health Medical Director Dr. Richard Lorraine says the county is waiting for the CDC to issue guidance for schools before they finalize theirs, but his office is keeping in touch with school administrators.
"It seems like, in general, CDC, our own internal thoughts, and what we're getting in feedback from the school districts — we all seem to be kind of settling in more on an outbreak management strategy," Lorraine said.
That strategy isn't set in stone, but, for example, he says it could include things like requiring masks or increased spacing after 10% of a school tested positive.
"We have to look at the relative risks and benefits of the various mitigation strategies. So in that we're not able to eliminate infections, we have to accept that there's going to be a background level of transmission. And then we have to work with that seeing how we can potentially control significant outbreaks."
The CDC says anyone exposed doesn't need to quarantine anymore, but they should wear a mask for 10 days and get tested after five days.
"I think we're seeing that paradigm shift coming from CDC, where they're giving tacit recognition that we're transitioning from pandemic to endemic," Lorraine said.
That means, he says, we are learning to live with the virus with fewer disruptions while still taking it seriously, similar to how we handle other infectious diseases like flu.
