OKLAHOMA CITY – Two groups of physicians recently announced that under current conditions they cannot support a statewide return to in-person learning next month at Oklahoma’s K-12 schools.
There’s too much variation in how the coronavirus is spreading in the state, said the American Academy of Pediatrics Oklahoma Chapter and the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP).
The two academies recommend using counties’ rates of transmission as guidance for reopening schools and have set a higher bar for returning to schools.
They recommend counties have 14 days of declining new cases, 14 days of declining positive test rates, or no more than 10 new cases per 100,000 population – a calculation that can be performed regardless of an area’s actual population – before resuming in-person instruction.
“There should be clear guidance from our state on specific county-level data, the indicators that show it’s safer to open specific school districts,” said Dr. Steve Crawford, speaking on behalf of the OAFP. “Remember, the word I used is ‘safer’. There isn’t necessarily any safe time to open, per se, because there’s always a risk of getting infected.”
The Oklahoma Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has serious concerns about whether Oklahoma schools are ready to open in the next few weeks.
They fear that unless more precautions are put in place, the start of the school year could also mean the start of a spike in COVID-19 cases.
“We’ve got a lot of details that I don’t see have been fully addressed yet,” said Dr. Dwight Sublet, president of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “I just think we have to be very cautious here. I think we have to really look at this thing and make sure we’ve got it right before we commit to starting- ing the school year.”
Doctors would like to see more uniform guidance given to individual districts regarding masks, sanitizing, social distancing and extracurricular activities.
“Because obviously when you do it that way, not everybody is going to have the same approach to it and there’s of course going to be philosophical differences on what we should and should not do,” Sublet said.
Pediatricians would also like to see state schools identify a point where they’ll have to offer virtual learning only.
“Where you have to say enough is enough and we’ve got to pull back. Obviously even with our best efforts, we more than likely will see a surge in cases of COVID-19 as this goes along,” Sublet said. “There is concern that this has not been accomplished, that we’re not ready. We don’t have the personnel, the equipment, masks, per- sonal protective equipment, supplies, all of that. What about monetary support? Are public schools getting adequate support to accomplish this? And substitutes?”
KWTV-9 in Oklahoma City reached out to the State Department of Education. The agency didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“It may be prudent to pump the brakes a little bit and let’s be sure we get it right before we go forward,” Sublet advised.