The Cuyahoga County Board of Health recommends that all schools in the county begin the 2020-2021 school year operating remotely. They also recommend schools discontinue extracurricular activities such as sports, band, theater, choir, and other activities.
News Channel 5 reports
"Along with maintaining a safe learning environment for students and staff, a number of questions have arisen related to preparation for sports competitions this fall. These and other extracurricular activities may not be conducive to the use of protective measures like social distancing or the use of facial coverings during participation," the agency stated. "Additionally, activities such as band, theater and choir also have the potential to increase transmission through spread of respiratory droplets."
The board of health said that it has been working with state and community officials regarding the matter.
“We understand the concerns about these recommendations, particularly related to the impact they may have on under-resourced school districts that serve low-income communities of color,” the board of health said in a news release. “However, we are equally concerned about the risk of COVID-19 transmission in these same school districts, as our current data indicate that African-Americans are three times more likely to be positive for COVID-19.”
Health officials said that changes to the recommendation may happen based on the following conditions:
COVID-19 testing positivity rates
Ohio Public Health Advisory System metrics
Relevant clinical and epidemiologic indicators as identified above
Tracking the incidence of new COVID-19 case
More on this story, here.
