Now that El Paso County school districts are back in full swing, the health department has set up some guidelines regarding masks, vaccines and COVID-19 reporting for all the districts.Hewitt, MPH, public health information officer with El Paso County Public Health, said it’s important to differentiate between what is required and what is recommended.Under state statues, COVID-19 single cases and outbreaks are required to be reported to public health departments. Quarantine and isolation practices are required as well.El Paso County Public Health continues to promote a layered approach to prevention, Hewitt said. Prevention methods include vaccinations for those who are eligible, staying home when sick, getting tested, masks/face coverings in public indoor settings, social distancing, increased ventilation and airflow, good hand hygiene and quarantining if ill or have tested positive for COVID-19. ìOur role is to provide education, outreach and technical assistance on layered prevention measures,î she said. ìFrom there, schools have the ability to implement the prevention measures they feel are most beneficial for their unique students, staff, families and communities.EPCPH strongly recommends face coverings in public indoor settings, which includes the school setting, as they have proven to be vital protection, especially in relation to the delta variant wave, she said. According to a recent literature review by Childrenís Hospital Colorado, COVID-19 transmission in schools is lower when risk mitigation measures, including universal masking are used.She said EPCPH contacts schools to notify them when there is a positive COVID-19 test and the individual has been at school. The schools are asked to partner with them to identify close contacts and place those individuals in quarantine, Hewitt said. Some schools opt to perform contact tracing themselves and work with impacted students and families directly regarding quarantine notification; other schools, such as El Paso County Colorado School District 49, choose to have EPCPH perform contact tracing and provide quarantine and isolation notifications as needed, she said.There is frequent communication between EPCPH and schools regarding these situations, as they are highly complex and evolving, Hewitt said. ìIn addition to regular meetings and touch points with school COVID coordinators, school nurses and superintendents, EPCPH is also available 24/7 to help answer any questions and assist schools,î she said.††ìEl Paso County has a unique school landscape, with 17 public school districts and numerous private and charter schools. While we encourage a wide array of layered prevention measures, we acknowledge there is not a one-size-fits-all solution; mitigation strategies may look different from school to school and district to district.î EPCPH continues to provide clear and consistent information to all schools; they all receive the same definitions, requirements, best practices and recommendations, she said.ìAs a whole, schools who are layering their approach and utilizing enhanced mitigation measures are experiencing fewer outbreaks, which are smaller in size,î Hewitt said.
