Harford County Public Schools Shifts Guidance As COVID-19 Spread Slows

HARFORD COUNTY, MD —As the spread of COVID-19 decreases in Harford County, the public school system changed some of its guidance.

Capacity limits that had been in place for athletic events and fine arts performances have been lifted as of Friday, April 1.

The change comes after Harford County spent the month of March in low transmission, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 tracking criteria, according to Harford County Public Schools Risk Manager Katie Ridgway.

"This new status removes capacity restrictions or events and use of HCPS facilities," Ridgway said at the March 28 Board of Education meeting in Bel Air. "We will continue to update the operational status as needed. Thank you to all as we keep moving forward together."

At-home test kits will be provided for all students at Harford County Public Schools, according to Manager of Communications Jillian Lader.

"Your school will send the test kit home with each student in April," Lader said in a statement. "If you do not have a need for the at-home test kit, you are welcome to share it with others in the community."

Distribution of the test kits is an initiative spearheaded by the Maryland Department of Health and Maryland State Department of Education.

This winter, the school system began diagnostic testing, which is a program for people who develop symptoms during the school day, according to Supervisor of Health Services Mary Nasuta.

"Last week we tested 74 persons for COVID-19 in our diagnostic program ... and seven tests were positive," Nasuta said at Monday's school board meeting. No schools in Harford County are currently experiencing outbreaks of the virus, she noted.

"Harford County is considered in low transmission levels, [which] as you remember are determined each Thursday evening based on the number of hospital beds being used, hospital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in the area," Nasuta said.

See COVID-19 community transmission levels from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here.

"When in low transmission, the community is reminded to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and to get tested if you have symptoms," Nasuta said.

"I encourage everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19," Nasuta said. "The vaccine is safe and effective. There are currently 69 percent of our county residents who are fully vaccinated, but just 34.4 percent of children ages 5 to 11 and 62 percent of children 12 to 17 who are fully vaccinated. I encourage and hope more parents will vaccinate their children in the coming months.

The change in operational guidance comes one month after Harford County Public Schools made face coverings optional. Masks were no longer required except in the health suite as of March 1.

• Harford County School Board Makes Mask Decision

Here is the latest operational status guidance as of Friday, April 1, according to Harford County Public Schools:

Harford County Public Schools provides more information about things like what happens if a student is symptomatic (the school system offers diagnostic testing) and why before and aftercare programs may have separate protocols (these are offered through groups independent of the school system).

No schools have COVID-19 outbreaks in Harford County as of March 30, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

While state data is updated weekly, the HCPS COVID-19 dashboard provides data by school on a rolling basis. During this school week, as of Friday morning, Harford County Public Schools reported 10 students and four staff tested positive for the virus:

• 2 students at Fountain Green Elementary School
• 2 students at Havre de Grace High School
• 1 student at C. Milton Wright High School
• 1 staff member at Deerfield Elementary School
• 1 staff member at Fallston High School
• 1 staff member at Hickory Elementary School
• 1 student at Homestead/Wakefield Elementary School
• 1 student at Hall's Cross Road Elementary School
• 1 student at Meadowvale Elementary School
• 1 student at Norrisville Elementary School
• 1 student at Patterson Mill High School
• 1 staff member at Ring Factory Elementary School

See Also: No Schools In Harford County Have COVID-19 Outbreaks: Officials