Returning to School Safely
By Shannon Traphagen
Colleges and Universities
After having to abruptly cancel in-person classes in mid-March due to the coronavirus, and conduct coursework remotely, students who will be returning to campus wonder what safety precautions will be taken to allay their fears of contracting COVID-19.
Most campuses begin the fall semester in August and return home by Thanksgiving — when scientists anticipate a second wave the virus. Here in WNY, Daemen College (Daemen), Villa Maria College (Villa), and University at Buffalo (UB) are implementing new practices to keep their students as safe and healthy as possible.
Daemen plans to begin the year as scheduled without a fall break, and transition to remote learning for the final two weeks of the semester. UB students, professors, and staff will use a modified in-person format to reduce the number of people on campus, limited classrooms to 25 percent capacity and reducing the number of students in residence halls. Everyone returning to campus will undergo a seven-day quarantine before classes begin, and those arriving from another country or from states listed New York’s travel advisory list will have to quarantine for two weeks. Everyone will be required to wear mandate face coverings inside and outside campus buildings, must safely distance in dining halls with masks when not eating or drinking. Students living in dorms won’t have to wear a mask in their room or while alone with their roommate. Everyone on campus will be screened daily. Anyone exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or who has been in contact with someone confirmed as having the virus, will be tested.
Kristen Schober, Villa’s Director of Communications, said, “We don’t have residential living, but are instituting robust new cleaning, sanitizing, and safety measures throughout campus. Social distancing, mandatory facial coverings, reduced classroom capacity, daily testing, and health screenings will be part of our new normal.”
Reopening Elementary, Middle, and High Schools
The State Education Department has now issued guidelines on returning to school. Meeting those guidelines will help schools and districts to determine how to ensure the health and safety of students. Schools will be required to recognize signs and symptoms of illness in students and staff; develop plans to maximize social distancing and masking; manage and isolate those who are ill until they can be sent home; adhere to proper hand and respiratory hygiene; and develop cleaning and disinfection procedures for the school in accordance with CDC and DOH guidance. The Education Department’s guidelines also address school transportation, meals, and the possibility of a hybrid plan that includes both in-person and remote learning.
Thomas A. Russo, MD, chief of the Division of Infectious Disease in the Department of Medicine, Jacobs School, reminds us all that, “Our first line of defense is the universal use of face coverings, physical distancing, and hand hygiene. Until a safe and effective vaccine becomes available, we all need to rigorously use the strategies described in these guidelines and develop a culture designed to prevent cases.”
Parents and students will be receiving additional guidance in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, visit www.nysed.gov for more helpful information.
