‘Tough call’ on how to reopen schools coming next week, Gov. Cooper says
North Caroling Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday that he will announce a schools reopening plan next week, along with details about Phase Three of the state’s reopening.
“We have been working on this for quite awhile,” Cooper said of the decision on how to reopen schools. “This is a tough call,” he said, one that every state and every governor is dealing with.
COVID-19 continues to spread, and though North Carolina isn’t a “surging hot spot” like some other states, it could become one, he said at a news conference.
“While we in North Carolina are not in dire straits like some around us, we need to remain concerned,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said at the news conference. “Flattening the curve is not a one-time thing.”
The state announced its second highest number of new cases Thursday, with 2,039 new cases reported. North Carolina is also seeing a steady increase in hospitalizations, with its new high of 1,034 people reported hospitalized Thursday. Cohen said the state is especially concerned about hospitalization numbers in Mecklenburg County.
Cohen also said Thursday that the trend line for the number of tests being performed in North Carolina is relatively flat, but the increased demand for testing nationwide is slowing down test-processing times.
Reopening schools
Cooper said when the state makes an announcement about schools next week, that announcement will include information on face coverings in schools. Cooper also emphasized the plan announced could be a combination of in-person and remote learning.
“We’re going to have a culmination of all this work that has gone on among teachers, superintendents and health officials,” Cooper said. “It’s going to be something that follows the law, and it’s going to be something that gets our kids back into school safely.”
Cooper said his office is on calls with the federal coronavirus task force frequently.
This week, Cooper and governors across the state heard from Vice President Mike Pence and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who said they want to have students back in school.
“It’s really important that we separate all of the politics here and talk about what’s best for our children,” Cooper said. “We know they need to get back in school, they need to do it in a safe way. That can be a combination of remote learning and in-person learning.”
State officials are particularly concerned about adults in schools transmitting the virus, and the state has seen some clusters of outbreaks in schools where teachers have congregated without students.
“We have to remember the adults in the building actually are the ones that are more easily the ones who transmit the virus,” Cohen said. “Currently we’ve had quite a low number of outbreaks in childcare settings and in schools.”
Cohen said they see children transmitting the virus less well than adults, and she wants to make sure that schools’ staff and teachers are also following distancing rules about face covering requirements and not congregating.
“We know these activities are going to reduce the risk. It doesn’t eliminate the risk,” Cohen said.
Reopening the state
Cooper’s phased reopening plan has received criticism from the Republican-led General Assembly, which passed multiple bills that would lift restrictions sooner than Cooper’s plans. The governor has vetoed all the reopening bills sent to him.
Phase Three is tentatively scheduled to start on July 17, but Cooper hasn’t said if that will happen.
Cooper also said Thursday the state was announcing a new initiative that would send as many as 250 community health workers to counties with high case loads.
“These health workers will work closely with local health departments and contact tracers and be responsible for connecting North Carolinians to medical and social support resources,” Cooper said.
That would include testing, primary care and mental health services and would help people find safe locations to isolate if they test positive, Cooper said.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 2:11 PM with the headline "‘Tough call’ on how to reopen schools coming next week, Gov. Cooper says."
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