Cook County Endorses CDC COVID-19 Guidance For K-12 Schools

OAK FOREST, IL — The Cook County Department of Public Health fully endorses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention layered mitigation strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when kids head back to school in August. The CDC’s Guidance for K-12 Schools has also been adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The CDC’s guidance is not optional. The layered mitigation strategy for schools includes:

• Vaccination: All eligible students and staff should be encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
• Vaccination remains the leading public health strategy to prevent COVID-19.
• Fully vaccinated individuals are not required to quarantine if they have been in close contact with someone who has Covid-19 and show no symptoms.
• Contact CCDPH to request an on-site vaccination clinic for your students and school community.
• Mask Use: Masks should be worn by all unvaccinated individuals aged 2 years and older while indoors.
• When unvaccinated individuals consistently and correctly wear masks, they protect themselves and protect others – especially important as many children at the elementary level are not yet eligible to receive vaccines.
• Students and staff who are masked and within 3-6 feet of a confirmed case are not considered close contacts in the new CDC guidance. This means that consistent and correct mask use will decrease the number of students needing to quarantine at home in the case of exposure. With masking, fewer students will miss in-person instruction.
• The expectation is that schools will follow the CDC masking guidance, with all unvaccinated individuals masked consistently and correctly. CCDPH encourages schools to take the stricter approach of following the guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics requiring all individuals older than age 2 who can medically tolerate face coverings to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status.
• Physical Distancing: At least 3 feet of physical distancing should be implemented whenever possible within classrooms.
• To allow for physical distancing, it is recommended that schools stagger lunchtimes and avoid large gatherings like assemblies or large meetings.
• Screening, Testing and Reporting: Schools are encouraged, to implement screening and testing programs to promptly identify and report cases, clusters, and outbreaks.
• Ventilation: Improvements and enhancements made to ventilation systems can help reduce the concentration of virus particles indoors to reduce COVID-19 transmission.
• Hygiene: Good respiratory and hand hygiene should be practiced by all individuals, including covering coughs and sneezes, frequent handwashing, and hand sanitizer use.
• Staying home when sick: All students, teachers and staff should stay home when they are ill to minimize the chance of spreading COVID-19.
• Contact tracing, Isolation, and Quarantine: Schools should continue to work with CCDPH to report cases for contact tracing, and require isolation and quarantine as recommended for exposed or ill individuals.
• Cleaning: Proper cleaning and disinfection at least once a day can help to reduce the presence of virus on surfaces.

Each of these topics is addressed in depth in the CDC Guidance for K-12 schools. The Cook County health department also recommends the following best practices:

• Update your COVID emergency operations plan in preparation for the 2021-2022 school year.
• Identify a single point of contact at your school when communicating with CCDPH.
• Collect, update and maintain COVID-19 vaccination status among your students, faculty and staff so that if a case, cluster or outbreak occurs, swift action can be taken.

The county will continue to monitor COVID-19 case rates closely, particularly as cases continue to surge fivefold among mostly non-vaccinated people around the state. Additional prevention strategies may be added as rates change throughout suburban Cook County.

Evidence supports the benefits of in-person instruction for a student’s academic achievement and social-emotional needs and development. The CCDPH recommends that all districts in suburban Cook County adopt science-based, prevention strategies to reduce COVID-19 in schools for a safe return to in-person instruction this fall.