PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Montgomery County is out with its COVID-19 guidance for school districts.
Office of Public Health Medical Director Dr. Richard Lorraine says there are two goals with the recommendations.
They want to be flexible and realistic, but as he put it, “the top priority is to try to make sure kids stay in in-person learning as much as possible.”
Masks are not recommended at all in the low category, which is zero to nine cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate under 5%. Montgomery County has been in the low category since mid-May. No masks are recommended in this stage.
The next step is moderate, 10-49 cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate between 5-7%. It recommends unvaccinated students wear masks indoors, and outdoors in crowded situations. Montgomery County fell into that moderate category from January to mid-May.
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Dr. Lorraine said they do not want kids in masks, but they also want to make sure kids can stay in the classroom.
“We only will recommend masking, if it appears from the numbers and the data that there is enough benefit in terms of preventing a significant amount of illness," Dr. Lorraine said.
"Otherwise, we really want kids to be kids.”
Dr. Lorraine said kids are less likely to have severe issues from COVID-19, and they are taking that into account in their recommendations.
He said there is going to be a background level of COVID-19, and we need to understand how to function with it, just like flu and strep throat, without grinding everything to a halt.