SAN DIEGO — San Diego County schools continued their path toward reopening on Sept. 1 as the county’s case rate remained below 100 per 100,000 residents Wednesday. The California Department of Public Health calculated the county’s case rate at 80.2, the second-lowest since the state began using the metric on June 29.
San Diego County fell off the state’s monitoring list on Aug. 18. Schools will be allowed to reopen, with their district’s permission, once the county remains off the list for 14 days by having a case rate below 100.
“We want to make sure that schools are prepared for any contingency, that they’re following the health measures and so everything we’ve done since March to develop our criteria and guidance around the safe reopening of schools has been done in conjunction with public health,” said Paul Gothold, the county superintendent of schools.
While some school districts are anxious to reopen, others are taking a cautious approach. County Health and Human Services Agency said state guidance does not require districts to close again if the county’s case rate were to go higher than 100 after Sept. 1.
“Once schools open and even if we get back on the monitoring list, schools will continue to stay open. Closures would be predicated on outbreaks,” said Dr. Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., the county’s public health officer.
State guidelines require schools to close classrooms if more than 5% of children or staff in a classroom test positive for coronavirus. Schools will be closed if more than 5% of the student body test positive. Entire districts will be closed if more than 25% of schools are closed due to an outbreak.
“Truly, there is not a playbook for this. Having said that, we know there will be a case that occurs where schools may have to pivot. It’s critical that the district and principals are communicating those changes with school communities,” said Gothold.
The state recommends teachers and school staff be regularly tested for coronavirus if they have contact with other staff members or students. The county has more than 20 sites, including four that do not require appointments, for testing residents. The Office of Education and county expect to open additional sites, exclusively for school staff, by late September.
The county does not recommend testing asymptomatic children. Health officials suggested parents work with their child’s physician if they would like their child tested or call 211 if they do not have a family physician.
Teams of county contact tracers, some of whom have experience as school nurses, will be sent to conduct investigations when cases occur.
“The systems that are being set up in the school so there are cohorts of children that are known to be learning together will make [tracing] a lot easier and we do anticipate there will be some cases that show up in schools,” said Dr. Eric McDonald, M.D., M.P.H., who heads HHSA’s Epidemiology and Immunization Services Branch.
While much attention has been focused on the county’s case rate, currently state guidelines only tie the reopening of schools to the figure. Gov. Gavin Newsom hinted new industry guidelines to reopen some businesses could come on Friday. It does not necessarily mean those industries will be allowed to reopen this week.
“Our challenge is how to slowly open back up without driving these cases back up,” said Wooten.
Health experts believe the state will take a measured approach to first reopen industries that have not been the source of many community outbreaks.
It is not known whether the state will tie the reopening of industries to a county’s case rate. Current guidance required counties to keep their rates below 100 to reopen schools.
“Even where we are now with an 80 per 100,000 [case rate] is higher than we need to be and higher than we should be,” said McDonald. “That’s still moderate to significant community transmission. We need to be well under 25 per 100,000 to be, what I would consider, headed toward normal. So, we have a long way to go.”