What you need to know about new COVID-19 guidelines for K-12 schools in Illinois
New Centers for Disease Control recommendations that ease some restrictions for COVID-19 prevention in early education and K-12 schools have been adopted by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.
The guidelines, which were adopted Friday, drop the requirement for quarantines and ease physical distancing rules.
“Current conditions of the pandemic are very different from those of the last two years, with many available tools to protect the general public, including widespread availability of vaccines for everyone six months and older,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Sameer Vohra said in a news release. “On top of that, we’ve always prioritized hospital capacity and hospitals are not facing the kind of strain we saw during the earlier COVID-19 waves.”
Schools are still being encouraged to follow the Centers for Disease Control's new operational guidance on best practices for all infectious diseases and to keep students home if they are ill while using testing to confirm or rule out COVID-19 and other infections.
The new CDC guidelines note that although COVID-19 continues to circulate, the risk of severe illness has been reduced due to high levels of vaccinations and infection-induced immunity, coupled with the widespread availability of effective treatments and prevention tools.
“This updated guidance from the CDC acknowledges the importance of in-person learning by allowing schools to more aptly adjust to changes within their own communities,” said State Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala. “Administrators can have more flexibility to be able to make the necessary adjustments they need to maintain in-person learning.”
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The CDC is urging schools to continue to implement strategies that prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The recommendations include schools should promote staying up-to-date with all routine vaccinations, optimize ventilation systems, reinforce proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette and utilize proper cleaning and disinfection procedures.
The CDC continues to recommend universal masking when COVID-19 levels are high and screening testing for high-risk activities, including close contact sports and band.
Ken DeCoster covers business news and features. Contact him at 815-987-1391, kdecoster@rrstar.com or @DeCosterKen.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Illinois adopts new COVID-19 guidelines for K-12 schools
