A Message From Monrovia Unified Regarding The Reopening Of Schools And Vaccines - **UPDATE**

Press release from Monrovia Unified School District:

A Message from Monrovia Unified Regarding the Reopening of Schools and Vaccines - **UPDATE**

Dear Monrovia Unified Community,

Last Friday, I shared updates about the criteria for the reopening of schools and information about vaccines. Much has happened over the last few days and that information needs to be updated yet again.

Reopening of Schools

Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) announced that the adjusted daily case rate for the County is below 25 cases per 100,000 population and, so, has met the threshold for reopening elementary schools. In order to meet all state and county requirements prior to reopening, schools must accomplish the following:

1. Complete the state’s COVID-19 Safety Plan, and post it to the school or district website
2. Send the complete COVID-19 Safety Plan to the state’s “Safe Schools for All” team at K12csp@cdph.ca.gov for review
3. Send the complete COVID-19 Safety Plan to LACDPH at TASchoolSupport@ph.lacounty.gov for review
4. Complete a LACDPH Reopening Protocol for Schools (Appendix T1) for each individual facility that is reopening, post it to the school or district website, and send it to LACDPH at TASchoolSupport@ph.lacounty.gov for review. This document will also need to be physically displayed at each open school facility, as described within the protocol.

The state’s “Safe Schools for All” team and the LACDPH will have seven (7) business days to review and reply regarding any deficiencies noted. If a submitter does not receive a reply within seven (7) business days from either the state or the county, the COVID-19 Safety Plan is approved. We have completed the first draft of each of those documents and will submit it following an additional read-through and review.Additional information and timelines will be provided later this week.

Vaccines

We have been working to establish partnerships within the community to distribute the vaccine more locally. I am happy to announce that the first of those partnerships has materialized with the City of Hope. City of Hope will be an available point of distribution for Monrovians, as well as members of nearby communities who are age 65 and older. Please feel free to share this information within the community. Interested and eligible individuals should complete a request form to be contacted to schedule an appointment.The first round of appointments will be scheduled Saturday, February 20, and Sunday, February 21, 2021. During this first dose appointment, all participants will be scheduled for their second dose of the vaccine that will take place on Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21, 2021. Both vaccination appointments will be conducted at the City of Hope, located in Duarte, California.I am grateful to our partners at the City of Hope and the LACDPH for working quickly together to provide this service. Many thanks to the Duarte USD team for spearheading this effort. The following school districts and communities are included within this outreach effort:

• Arcadia Unified School District
• Azusa Unified School District
• Baldwin Park Unified School District
• Duarte Unified School District
• El Monte City School District
• El Monte Union High School District
• Monrovia Unified School District
• San Gabriel Unified School District

As soon as the LACDPH permits vaccinations for people in the next phases, we will meet those needs as well.

Sincerely,

Dr. Katherine Thorossian

This press release was produced by Monrovia Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.