New York is All Set to Safely Reopen Schools This Fall

The world at large holds its breath as life is about to normalize. It is going to take more than just the will to reopen amidst COVID-19, especially the schools. What we need to do is act upon a persistent, consistent, and watchful approach. Because one small mistake can cost us precious lives.

We have all missed so much of life during the past few months, especially for the kids it was debilitating enough. The news to reopen schools seems like the right thing to do.

If COVID-19 has taught us one thing, it is gratitude. Quarantine taught us to appreciate the good times before they become extinct. That is for sure!

Every state had its share of COVID-19 cases. However, New York State was hit the worst. Going back a few months, we saw a steep rise, plateau, and then gradually a fall in the curve COVID-positive patients. It took a ton of patience, reassurance, and action from healthcare officials and essential workers to get us out of that desperate condition.
We bounced back big time with our determination and complacency as a nation; now, health experts say, New York is one of the safest places to reopen schools. Governor Andrew Cuomo asks the state officials to make it happen.

Governor Cuomo Says Schools Can Hold In-person Classes This Fall

Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, is confident to reopen schools this fall. He reassured on Friday, August 7, that it is possible to hold in-person classes even if other districts continue to see a surge in COVID-19 cases. Authorities in other states have to decide whether or not to reopen according to the percentage of active COVID-19 cases per day.

CDC & WHO Report A Favorable Time to Bring Kids Back to School

New York is the capital of the world, once it used to be London; health experts such as doctors, epidemiologists, and others confirm conditions are favorable for reopening of schools throughout the state with safety measures in place.
Not one, but many mental and physical health practitioners consider staying home to do more harm to kids than the virus itself could possibly do.

Since Wednesday, there were fewer than 1 percent active coronavirus cases across the state; that is considerably below the 5 percent positivity limit that both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) agree on as the safety benchmark to reopen schools.

What Does the Mayor think?

Mayor Bill de Blasio says if more than 3 percent of tests come back positive, schools will remain closed. The daily infection rate if crosses 3 percent per day, it is not a good idea to reopen, says Harvard’s Global Health Institute.
P3 Healthcare Solutions encourages the act of reopening educational facilities this fall. It is for the best because schools will give students something to look forward to every day. We can’t go on like this forever.

P3 caters to provider billing services involving infectious disease experts and pediatricians. For kids to ideally thrive, clinicians reimbursed in full for their services could be the difference.

What do the Experts Say?

Dr. Uche Blackstock, an urgent care physician in Brooklyn and founder of Advancing Health Equity, says and I paraphrase:

If there’s any city worthy of reopening, it should be New York City.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, is confident about the reopening of schools, according to the New York Times. Besides, initially, it may appear to be a trial run or a social experiment.
Additionally, he believes that New York’s chances of success, regardless of its dense population, are higher than many rural areas where there is a lack of seriousness to control the spread of the virus.

New York Falls within the Yellow Zone

The number of cases per capita criterion is also in favor of this reopening. The Harvard report categorizes regions into zones; 1 to 10 cases per 100,000 people form the yellow zone. The yellow zone regions are safe for in-person classes if the safety precautions such as social distancing and proper infection control measures are in place.
Currently, New York records 3.5 cases per 100,000 daily that puts it in the yellow zone. Yellow zone recommendations are first about reopening for kids from early kindergarten through fifth grade and last about high schoolers.

What Safety Measures to Follow?

The COVID-19 experts are in favor of precautionary measures for schoolers that include mask-wearing, physical distancing, and improved ventilation in buildings.

Other districts have to come up with their own reopening plans. For the protection of both students and teachers, each region must come up with a plan to test them. It is subject to approval from the state’s health and education departments.

In general, experts believe the chorus, band, and sports with physical contact should not be part of the daily routine. Children, instead of eating in cafeterias, are to restrict eating in their classrooms. Schools should also ensure crowds stay away from gathering in hallways at different times of the day.

Earlier, we saw the Trump Administration encouraging practices to reopen as America strives to bring things back to the way they were. What are your thoughts on this?