 “Our goal is to protect the health of students,
teachers, and staff so that in-person learning can resume as safely
as possible,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “The CDC is right:
vaccination is the best preventive strategy. As school board
members, parents, teachers and superintendents plan for a return to
in-person learning in the fall, we strongly encourage those who are
not vaccinated to continue to mask. IDPH is proud to fully adopt
school guidance issued by CDC, which is based on the latest
scientific information about COVID-19.”
The updated school guidance now aligns with guidance for fully
vaccinated people, which allows activities to resume for fully
vaccinated people without wearing a mask except where required by
federal, state, and local rules and regulations.
Major elements of the updated guidance include:
-
Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and
older) who are not fully vaccinated.
-
CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical
distance between students within classrooms, combined with
indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to
reduce transmission risk. When it is not possible to maintain a
physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools
cannot fully re-open while maintaining these distances, it is
especially important to layer multiple other prevention
strategies, such as indoor masking.
-
Screening testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory
etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact
tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and
cleaning and disinfection are also important layers of
prevention to keep schools safe.
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Many schools serve children under the age of 12 who are not
eligible for vaccination at this time. Therefore, this guidance
emphasizes implementing layered prevention strategies (masking,
distancing, testing) to protect people who are not fully
vaccinated.
Schools and communities should monitor community
transmission of COVID-19, vaccination coverage, screening testing,
and outbreaks to guide decisions about on the level of layered
prevention strategies being implemented.
State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala issued the
following declaration mandating in-person learning with limited
exceptions:
Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, all schools must resume
fully in-person learning for all student attendance days, provided
that, pursuant to 105 ILCS 5/10-30 and 105 ILCS 5/34-18.66, remote
instruction be made available for students who have not received a
COVID-19 vaccine or who are not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine,
only while they are under quarantine consistent with guidance or
requirements from a local public health department or the Illinois
Department of Public Health.
“All our students deserve to return safely in-person to schools this
fall,” said Dr. Ayala. “With vaccination rates continually rising
and unprecedented federal funding to support safe in-person
learning, and mitigations such as contact tracing and increased
ventilation in place in schools, we are fully confident in the
safety of in-person learning this fall. We look forward to a great
school year and to the energy of Illinois’ young minds once again
filling our school buildings.”
The updated school guidance can be found at
http://www.dph.illinois.gov/
covid19/community-guidance/school-guidance. This guidance
is subject to change pursuant to changing public health conditions
and updates from CDC.
[Illinois Office of Communication and
Information] |
