{"id":576477,"date":"2021-08-18T15:56:34","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T19:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=576477"},"modified":"2021-08-20T11:08:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T15:08:48","slug":"buried-cdc-guidance-emphasizes-universal-masking-in-schools-says-properly-protected-close-contacts-neednt-quarantine","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/buried-cdc-guidance-emphasizes-universal-masking-in-schools-says-properly-protected-close-contacts-neednt-quarantine\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Buried\u2019 CDC Guidance Emphasizes Universal Masking in Schools, Says Properly Protected \u2018Close Contacts\u2019 Needn\u2019t Quarantine"},"content":{"rendered":"

S<\/span>ome key absences complicated the return to school in Wayne Township, Indiana: 461 to be exact.<\/p>\n

After just eight days in classrooms, 37 positive coronavirus cases in the 16,000-student district outside Indianapolis had triggered hundreds of student quarantines, forcing young people to miss out on classes and extracurriculars.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Jeff Butts knew he had to act fast. The district had begun the year mask optional in late July. But in early August, he stumbled on a solution, hidden in plain sight: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just updated its guidance, exempting students from self-isolation if they and the infected student were properly masked and spaced at least 3 feet apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my biggest tipping point, quite frankly, when the CDC came out and made that change,\u201d Butts told The 74. \u201cI realized that if we had all of our children in masks \u2026 I can quarantine fewer children.\u201d<\/p>\n

But not everyone got the message. It doesn\u2019t appear that the guidance trickled down to many other school systems, where most policies remain stricter than the CDC demands<\/a>, according to a recent survey of 100 districts from the University of Washington\u2019s Center for Reinventing Public Education. One reason for the disconnect is that CDC made little attempt to billboard the policy shift, which only appears in an appendix<\/a> on case investigation and tracing updated Aug. 5.<\/p>\n

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. <\/em>Sign up for The 74 Newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

<\/span>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s buried in some appendix to the close contact definition,\u201d Emily Oster, Brown University economist who has tracked schooling through the pandemic, told The 74. Under many school systems\u2019 quarantine protocols, spending 15 minutes within a six foot radius of an infected individual \u2014 sitting next to them in class, for example \u2014 can force students to stay home for up to two weeks. The new exemption allows schools to bypass that rule in cases where both individuals mask up.<\/p>\n

Across the country, as school leaders struggle with quarantine totals that are stretching into the thousands<\/a> just weeks after schools opened their doors, the new masking exemption to self-isolation guidelines, could help districts sidestep chaotic reopenings amid divisive politics surrounding the use of masks.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the past week across the country, New Orleans School District quarantined over 3,000 students and staff<\/a> after 299 recorded COVID cases. Mississippi has 20,000 students staying home for isolation<\/a> statewide, an official announced. And a district in Texas shut down due to outbreaks among school staff<\/a>. Meanwhile, Texas \u2014 among other states like Florida, Arkansas and Arizona \u2014 maintains a ban on mask mandates, though school systems like those in Dallas and Miami are requiring face coverings in defiance of the ban<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The CDC did not respond to The 74\u2019s request for an explanation of why the update wasn\u2019t publicized more widely. But Oster, the Brown economist, said it\u2019s possible that when the CDC updated the definition of close contact for quarantining, \u201cthey didn\u2019t realize how important it would be for school guidance,\u201d and thus didn\u2019t heavily broadcast the change.<\/p>\n

At the very least, it\u2019s clear the hidden clause gives districts a \u201chuge incentive to have everybody mask,\u201d Oster said.<\/p>\n

As of Aug. 11, all students and faculty in Wayne Township are now required to wear face coverings. Site leaders have told Butts that the district is already seeing fewer quarantines, though the superintendent said he doesn\u2019t yet have this week\u2019s numbers.<\/p>\n