BUFFALO (WBEN) - School leaders from various districts across Erie County met with Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein Monday to discuss experiences with COVID-19 health and safety guidance during the last school year and this summer.
"This is a welcome opportunity for ECDOH and schools to move forward together with practices that reduce the risks of COVID-19 transmission in school settings, and maximize student and staff time within classrooms and extracurricular activities," said Burstein via a press release. "The school leaders' insights are valuable for our school team to hear, and we discussed use of face masks, physical distancing, return to school protocols, transportation and lunch settings."
Last week, the New York State Department of Health announced that the state will not be providing guidance, instead opting to leave health and safety protocols up to individual school districts and local health departments.
The ECDOH said will review the feedback from the meeting as it compiles COVID-19 recommendations for K-12 school settings for this upcoming school year, as well as consider recommendations from the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in developing that guidance.
There is no set timetable for any ECDOH school recommendation announcements, but the department said it recognizes "the extreme time constraints that schools face in creating policies and operational plans, and communicating with parents and families before September."
