Today’s “Stay Safe, Stay Open” plan for @NYCSchools reaffirms our dual mission to keep schools safe and prioritize in-person learning in the new year – even as we make some adjustments due to #Omicron. 🧵
What we know from our data over the school year so far is that schools remain among the safest settings in our communities. For any case identified in an NYC public school between October to December, only 1 in 120 close contacts developed COVID-19 – that’s 0.83%.
When compared to the rate outside of schools, about 1 in 7 contacts in a household develop COVID-19, or over 14%. This marked reduction in risk is the result of layered prevention measures: vaccination, testing, ventilation, distancing, and kids staying home if they’re ill.
Even if the rates were to become somewhat higher due to Omicron becoming dominant, we estimate that, in schools, about 98% of close contacts do not end up developing COVID-19.
The “Stay Safe, Stay Open” plan revolves around more quickly identifying the cases – the 2% – and ensuring they are isolating, while keeping the other 98% of kids in school. We will do this by significantly scaling up our testing while adjusting our classroom quarantine policies.
✅ We will double our surveillance testing overall and include vaccinated people in that testing.
✅ We will distribute rapid test kits at a mass scale, both around cases identified in classrooms, as well as to staff.
✅ We will distribute rapid test kits at a mass scale, both around cases identified in classrooms, as well as to staff.
✅ We will encourage wide testing of students and staff ahead of the first day of school through our community sites.
Meanwhile, the Situation Room will shift from its current contact tracing protocols to supporting school leaders with these ramped-up testing efforts.
Meanwhile, the Situation Room will shift from its current contact tracing protocols to supporting school leaders with these ramped-up testing efforts.
Our “disease detectives” will continue to investigate when there is evidence of widespread in-school transmission – like when there is an unusually high number of cases within a classroom or sports team.
We will continue to strengthen our prevention measures at every opportunity – from distributing high-quality masks to further improving ventilation – with a particular emphasis on vaccination, especially for 5-11-year-olds, as well as boosters for anyone 16 and older.
Remote learning is not just detrimental educationally – it also exacerbates health inequities and has worsened youth mental health. Schools nourish our children’s brains and their bodies – that’s why we are so committed to keeping them safe, and keeping them open.
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