Minnesota middle and high schools can open up in-person as soon as Monday, no phase-in required.
It’s a reopening announcement that goes further than current CDC recommendations, but Minnesota Department of Health assistant commissioner Dan Huff says it takes into account improving coronavirus numbers in the state.
“I feel very confident and comfortable in how we are mitigating the risk,” Huff said. “We are in the midst of a global pandemic. There is risk any time we gather with other people. We have followed the science and we’re looking at what is best for our kids, for their mental, emotional and physical health.”
Gov. Tim Walz said he expects every school to offer some form of in-person school by March 8. Decisions will be made by districts and schools and are not controlled by county population-based vius data.
Walz says conversations around prom or graduation have not yet been decided, but it’s up to the rest of the community to continue mitigation.
“Weddings going up to 50 people. Indoor gatherings up to 250. I think that signals the direction that if Minnesotans can keep doing what we’re doing, the long-term projections on the absence of a spike, which again, was terrifying in September and October because we knew it was coming in November-December. That is not there right now,” Walz said about decreasing cases and hospitalizations and the increase in vaccine doses. “I think that puts those things back on the table.”
Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said in a statement that it’s teachers’ unions that are “standing in the way.” Education Minnesota president Denise Specht said many teachers still want to get vaccinated before coming back to the classroom.
“Regardless of today’s announcement, there will still be educators who need the vaccine before they can safely return to their buildings because of local conditions,” Specht said in a news release. “There will also be families that won’t be comfortable returning to in-person learning next month. Meeting the needs of everyone won’t be easy and the solutions will look different everywhere.”
As of the first week of February, 13,515 cases have been connected to school settings for both students and staff, according to the Dept. of Health. The Dept. of Education reports 86% of public and charter schools are offering in-person school, with about two-thirds of those offering in-person for middle and high schools.
