Unvaccinated kids in Johnson County schools should wear masks, health officials say
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Johnson County health officials on Friday recommended that children who have not been fully vaccinated wear masks when the new school year starts.
The advice comes as Kansas City-area leaders sound alarms over the delta variant of COVID-19 tearing through Missouri, where many communities have low vaccination rates. Masks have been shown to prevent the spread of the virus.
School superintendents and board members in the county were offered the guidance as part of a “multi-layered approach” the health department wishes to see in order to safely resume in-person learning.
Along with masks for the unvaccinated, the guidance advises schools to promote vaccination, exclude those with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection from class and exclude close contacts of confirmed cases.
The “primary goal remains to keep Johnson County schools open so that children can learn and benefit from interactions with others,” the department said in a statement Friday afternoon.
Dr. Sanmi Areola, Johnson County’s public health director, said Friday while transmission of the virus has decreased substantially compared to last year “we must remain vigilant.”
“We are starting to see concerning increases in cases,” Areola said in a statement. “We want a return to normalcy, but we need to be cautious and get vaccinated if eligible.”
Johnson County has seen COVID-19 cases rise over the past month as the delta variant continues to spread. For several weeks, the county’s positivity rate — or the number of new cases over the past 14 days — had remained at its lowest point since the start of the pandemic, under 3%.
But that rate continues to spike, recently reaching 5% for the first time in several weeks. On Friday, the county reported the positivity rate was 6.4%.
Elizabeth Holzschuh, an epidemiologist with the county health department, told The Star earlier this week that more day cares, summer camps and businesses were reporting COVID-19 outbreaks.
“We’re seeing outbreaks across the board, but predominantly among people who aren’t vaccinated, in the under 12 group, is where we’re seeing a number of outbreaks,” she said.
COVID-19 protocols in schools are ultimately left up to the districts. Johnson County school districts are making decisions on how to safely begin the school year later this summer, including whether they will require masks.
The new guidance for Johnson County schools comes as metro area hospitals and health officials issued a joint public health advisory recommending members of the public to again start wearing masks in most public settings.
The advisory, issued Friday afternoon, says unvaccinated individuals should wear a mask while visiting indoor public places, crowded outdoor settings, and for activities with close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated.
It encourages anyone over age 12 to get fully vaccinated. The unvaccinated remain the most at risk, specifically those who are immune-compromised.
That recommendation was made by health departments in Cass, Clay, Platte, Ray and Jackson counties in Missouri; Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami counties in Kansas as well as Kansas City and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas.
The Star’s Glenn E. Rice contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 5:50 PM.
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