Some Tri-Cities schools told to be ready to reopen as soon as Oct. 1

Tri-Cities public school leaders were told Monday that they should make plans for some in-person learning as early as Oct. 1.

Dr. Amy Person, health officer for the Benton Franklin Health District, said that school districts in Benton County and rural North Franklin County should be prepared for classes to start as soon as Oct. 1.

Other schools in Franklin County, including Pasco, should be ready to start some in-person classes as early as Oct. 15.

The decision on when to reopen will remain up to school administrators and school boards, however.

Most public school students in Benton and Franklin counties are being taught at home now over the internet.

As more schools reopen, it is planned initially to be in a hybrid model of part in-person classes and part continued learning at home.

For most students and staff the hybrid learning model is not expected to pose a significantly increased risk from coronavirus infection, according to Dr. Person.

But those who are medically fragile or at high risk because of health conditions or age should still work or learn remotely, she said.

When schools reopen the local health district will closely monitor COVID-19 disease activity and trends for any potential increases.

COVID case trends

Dr. Person made her new recommendation on school reopening in a letter that said Benton County could be down to 75 new cases over two weeks per 100,000 population at the start of October, the state target for partial school reopening.

The population of the North Franklin School District based in Connell and some other rural communities could meet the target by Oct. 1, with the rest of Franklin County there by mid-October, Dr. Person said.

Data remains preliminary but the number of new cases has dropped significantly since the start of July, she said. New cases are down 57% since July 30 in Benton County and by 62% in Franklin County, which started out with a higher rate of new cases.

A decline in the number of people hospitalized locally for COVID-19 treatment also indicates progress in reducing the spread of the disease and reduces the burden on area hospitals. Just 6.5% of patients at the four hospitals in Benton and Franklin counties were being treated for COVID on Monday.

School benefits weighed

Dr. Person credits the increased number of people wearing face coverings in public for the decline in the spread of the coronavirus.

However, if trends change in the coming weeks or other new information becomes available, her recommendation could change.

Dr. Person said she considered the benefits of in-person school attendance in making her recommendation.

Feedback from students and their families indicate that on-line education cannot match the quality of in-person classroom instruction for most students, she said.

“Education is a key driver for health,” she said. “Barriers to educational attainment, including lack of access to early educational support, will result in lower academic achievement, as well as lower health potential.”

Schools also provide food, allow the well-being of students to be monitored and support social and emotional development, she said.

Preparing to reopen

To prepare for reopening schools will need to ensure that adequate hygiene, sanitizing and personal protective equipment supplies are available and that adequate staff are available for the increase COVID-19 precautions.

Families need to ensure that their students’ immunizations are updated and any student with an individual health plan has it submitted to the school.

The state recommendations for counties at moderate risk for COVID-19 — those with about 25 to 75 new cases in two weeks per 100,000 people — is some in-person learning for elementary school students but possible continued distance learning for older students initially.

The state strongly recommends canceling or postponing all in-person extracurricular activities at schools if the COVID risk continues to be moderate.

As counties drop to low risk for transmission of the coronavirus — less than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents in two weeks — the state recommends hybrid in-person and distance learning for middle and high school students building to all in-person learning.

Elementary students would return to full-time in-person learning and low- to moderate-risk extracurricular activities could be allowed.

This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 4:20 PM.