Here’s what’s working to keep COVID-19 spread down in schools

CHARLOTTE — Duke and UNC researchers worked with 11 school districts in North Carolina that stayed open for in-person/hybrid learning for the first nine weeks of this school year -- that’s nearly 100,000 students and staff.

What they found was that transmission of COVID-19 inside schools was extremely low.

>> Read more about the study here.

There were 773 confirmed virus cases, but only 32 cases came from spread inside of schools -- and none of those were transmitted from a child to an adult.

Keeping schools closed could prevent 2-4% of deaths, but researchers said other social distancing measures are far more effective.

That’s some of the data but it’s not the whole picture.

>> READ MORE HERE.

>> In the video at the top of this page, Channel 9 education reporter Elsa Gillis explains what has to happen to keep viral spread in schools to a minimum.

Here’s information from a recent CMS Board meeting on HVAC air quality initiatives:

Statement from Union County Schools on social distancing, ventilation, other safety measures:

“We are required to follow the guidelines in the state’s toolkits. This is the toolkit that the Governor referred to yesterday. Since opening schools in August, we have adjusted classrooms and common areas to accommodate social distancing. As a reminder, many students are working remotely and the number of students in schools is less than a normal year. We continue to monitor these guidelines at each school. As for the ventilation system, we are following the recommendations in the toolkit to the fullest extent possible.”

Statement from Cabarrus County Schools regarding ventilation in classrooms:

“As part of our ongoing work to maintain healthy school and work environments, CCS will continue to conduct routine maintenance on our HVAC systems with special emphasis placed on replacing air filters, cleaning ducts and ensuring proper exhaust fan operation. Our Facilities and Maintenance teams also revised HVAC system run-time schedules, which better control humidity levels in our schools and modify temperatures in unoccupied spaces. We also have installed additional modular needlepoint bipolar ionization (NPBI™) systems to safely clean indoor air. In school buildings with limited outside air flow capabilities, we encourage staff to open windows and doors (if safe) to increase air flow. These schools also have bipolar ion air scrubbers installed to help remove pathogens from the air.”

Here’s a link to more on the district’s safety measures.

President Biden official talks to Channel 9 about pledge to reopen schools

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