Every school district in North Carolina should reopen for in-person learning as soon as possible. That’s the message from Governor Roy Cooper.
The number of new Covid-19 cases is dropping – as are hospitalizations due to the virus and the percent of tests that are positive. That means the situation is stabilizing, says Governor Cooper, and it’s time that schools statewide re-open for in-person learning.
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mandy Cohen, said the research supports this.
"Children, particularly younger children, continue to be less likely to get and spread Covid-19 than adults. When children do get Covid-19, most have very mild illness. Only in very rare instances have children developed severe symptoms."
Cohen also said one recent study examining North Carolina schools found it very unlikely a person diagnosed with Covid-19 caught the virus at school or gave it to anyone else at the school. In the same study, there were no cases of student to staff transmission.
At a Tuesday press briefing, Governor Cooper said that instead of legislating school reopenings, his administration would prefer to leave details to local school districts.
However, officials discourage the resumption of indoor contact sports such as basketball – where the Centers for Disease Control finds high transmissibility of the coronavirus. Tennis is safer due to its social distanced-construct and because it's played outdoors.
The North Carolina Association of Educators issued a statement urging Governor Cooper to prioritize vaccinations for teachers before opening schools for in-person instruction.
Without the widespread vaccination of educators and strictly enforced social distancing, reads the statement, it is impossible for many schools to open safely.