San Antonio: Metro Health Issues Fourth Amended Health Directive Related To School Systems

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

February 2, 2021

Metro Health issues fourth amended health directive related to school systems

CONTACT: For members of the media, please contact:
covid19media@sanantonio.gov

Laura Mayes, City of San Antonio (210) 207-1337
Michelle Vigil, City of San Antonio (210) 207-8172

For questions from the general public, please contact:
COVID-19@sanantonio.gov
COVID-19 Hotline (210) 207-5779

SAN ANTONIO (February 2, 2021) – Today, San Antonio’s Local Health Authority, Dr. Junda Woo, issued a fourth amendment to the current health directive related to our local school systems. The revised health directive, either virtual or hybrid learning are options in Red Zone, but the directive stresses the importance of restricting other gatherings instead when community COVID levels are high. The directive adds links to new tools and FAQ’s provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), highlights the fact that contact sports are still not recommended in the Red Zone, and removes specific pod sizes while sharing CDC templates for classroom layouts.

At risk levels in the Red Zone. Preventing transmission in K-12 settings requires reducing transmission in the community through policies such as restrictions on indoor dining. COVID testing should be offered to at least 25% of on-campus staff once a week, and class sizes should be smaller than in the Yellow Zone, with rigorous cohorting. In-person instruction prioritizes pre-kindergarten through elementary school students, special needs students, the most severely at-risk students, and students who lack access to resources. Building and room occupancy should be contingent on adequate ventilation and ability to create 6-foot distancing. Close contacts must be quarantined for 14 days.

• Contact sports should be deferred. Athletes may engage in skill-building drills or conditioning at home, alone or with household members, under CDC guidance for youth sports here.
• Colleges and universities should operate virtually.

Metro Health’s weekly school risk level, which includes varying levels of virus prevention tactics and guidance within its Red, Yellow and Green Zones, can be found here.

For more information please visit www.covid19.sanantonio.gov

FOUR WAYS TO SIGN UP FOR COVID-19 ALERTS

1. Download the Ready South Texas app, available in the iTunes and Google Play stores
2. Text COSAGOV to 55000 to receive SMS text message updates
3. Follow @COSAGOV on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
4. Bookmark www.SanAntonio.gov

Public service announcements on social distancing, prevention and testing are available here.

Documents to download

Health Directive Related to Schools Amended v16 Feb 2

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.