Skolnik: Keeping Schools Open In The Face Of Omicron

By RICHARD SKOLNIK
Los Alamos

In an unfortunate twist of fate, schools in New Mexico are set to reopen just as the Omicron variant has dramatically appeared. The number of COVID cases in the US is climbing rapidly. Many states have also seen a major increase in pediatric cases and in the hospitalization of children due to COVID-19. Cases have begun to rise again in New Mexico.

In this light, we should be especially concerned about how we can safely reopen our schools and keep them open in the face of this new variant. This is especially important since students will also be returning to school shortly after holiday-related social gatherings that have consistently been associated with viral spread.

Many school systems nationwide have already announced measures that they will take to try to reopen safely. Testing is usually a main feature of the strategy for a safe return. With the opening of schools in New Mexico less than a week away, the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) has not provided any such guidance to our communities.

While it may be too late to ensure that students in some locations can get tested before returning to school, the NMPED could urgently take several steps to deal with the post-holiday reopening, including:  

  • Arranging increased availability of testing for K-12 students and related faculty and staff, as long as the Omicron threat is present. This will take efforts at the local level to mobilize communities around the importance of this effort.
  • Strengthening school-based mitigation measures, such as encouraging New Mexico’s schools to have their children eat in their classrooms if they cannot eat outside, until we are sure any Omicron wave has passed.
  • Reminding all administrators, faculty, and staff that they should take the risks of viral spread into account in planning any school-related activities. This includes, for example, minimizing large gatherings and allowing volunteers into classrooms only when it is essential.
  • Strongly encouraging families to vaccinate their school-going children. The emerging data suggests that almost all of the hospitalized children are unvaccinated.
  • Working with NMDOH to ensure that any boosters that get approved for school-going children are available as soon as possible in New Mexico.

The Los Alamos Public Schools just announced a set of measures to deal with school reopening, for which I commend them. It is now time, however, for NMPED to provide guidance about the return to school to all of New Mexico. This would begin to set a foundation for a safer reopening across the state. We hope that it won’t happen; however, we need to be prepared for a worst-case scenario in New Mexico by mitigating risk as much as possible as kids head back to their classrooms after the holiday break.

Editor’s Note: Richard Skolnik is the former regional director for health for South Asia at the World Bank. He was the director of an AIDS treatment program for Harvard and taught Global Health at the George Washington University and Yale. He is the author of Global Health 101 and the instructor for Yale/Coursera’s Essentials of Global Health. Skolnik has written this article in his personal capacity.

Search
LOS ALAMOS

ladailypost.com website support locally by OviNuppi Systems