Bucks Co. Clarifies COVID-19 Guidance For Schools: What To Know

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — The Bucks County Department of Health has released information clarifying guidance for school districts, emphasizing that it acts only as an advisory board and cannot provide mandates or legal counsel for the schools.

Districts were required to finalize their Health and Safety plans by the end of July — but rising cases in recent weeks have garnered community concern about COVID-19 safety as schools prepare to reopen. The county reported 562 infections last week, a 62 percent increase from the week before.

Throughout the document of frequently asked questions, county commissioners and David Damsker, the health department's director, continuously emphasized to readers that guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is broad. The CDC currently recommends that counties with substantial spread, like Bucks, mandate indoor masking. Governor Wolf has not mandated indoor masking or masking in schools.

While county health department officials “recognize” that districts must follow guidance from these bodies, they said “a one-size-fits-all approach to disease mitigation may not always be the most prudent approach at any level.”

The Bucks County Health Department said their guidance is based on "science, years of public health policy, 18 months of accumulated local experience with the pandemic, and common sense." The memo emphasized a belief in responding to district needs on an individual basis.

“The partnership between the [county health department] and school districts resulted in near daily conversations and consultations that allowed for both safe classroom environments and best practices for mitigation,” the health department wrote. “This collaboration will continue throughout the upcoming school year and beyond.”

Masking

As of Monday, no Bucks County school districts are mandating indoor masking and all plan to return to five-day in-person schooling, with many offering options for homeschooling and virtual instruction as well.

“For the start of the school year, we recommend that at a minimum, schools should adopt a ‘mask-optional’ policy,” the health department initially wrote on Sunday.

On Tuesday afternoon, though, Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker amended this part of the guidance following advice from area hospitals, and said the department would encourage indoor masking in schools.

"While our COVID-19 cases among school-aged children remain very low, hospitals are growing concerned that any pediatric COVID-19 cases could stress the system," Damsker wrote. "Because of this, hospitals in Bucks County have recommended that schools begin the fall semester with a mask requirement. As a result of this new information provided by our partner hospitals, we support their recommendation to follow CDC guidance on masking in schools."

Masking on school transportation is more complicated, since the CDC has issued an order that masks be worn on all forms of public transportation. The county health department advises that school boards work with their solicitor to determine legal policies on school bus masking.

Contact Tracing and Reporting Cases

The health department clarified its position on contact tracing, which had garnered uproar in recent weeks over what some felt was unclear advice contradicting state policies on reporting cases of COVID-19.

The health department said its limited contact tracing resources will be focused only on highest-risk settings in the county, including congregate care facilities, correctional facilities, and nursing homes — but that districts are advised to report positive COVID-19 cases in their schools.

“[W]e strongly recommend that school districts urge parents to report their child’s confirmed case of COVID-19 to the school nurse or staff designee, and for districts to send notification to the parents of all students in that child’s classroom, specifically in schools with unvaccinated children under the age of 12,” the memo reads.

Vaccination

The health department advised “unequivocally” that all who are eligible receive vaccinations against COVID-19. Of adults in Bucks County, 82.6 percent had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of last week.

“Vaccines are proven to reduce symptoms and substantially reduce death and hospitalizations due to COVID-19,” the health department wrote.

Thus far, Bucks County hospitalizations have not increased at a proportionate rate to the increases in positive cases.

However, children under the age of 12 cannot receive vaccines.

“Bucks County as a whole averages nine cases per day of school-aged children,” the memo read. It went on to add, “Thankfully, all available evidence in Bucks County — and elsewhere — indicates that while serious illness in children with COVID-19 is possible, it is very rare.”

Health officials said concerned parents with children under 12 who can’t be vaccinated can choose to mask their children regardless of district masking policies.

Symptoms and Positive Tests

The county health department recommended to districts that anyone with fever or multiple symptoms remain out of school buildings until symptoms have resolved for 24 hours without medication. The same guidelines are recommended for those who’ve tested positive for COVID-19.

“Individuals who test positive but are fully asymptomatic should wait at least three days from the test date prior to returning to school in order to ensure they are not just pre-symptomatic (about to become symptomatic),” the county health department wrote. Household COVID-19 transmission from an asymptomatic person was shown to be highly unlikely in the year’s data, the memo said.

“Schools may then elect to require a positive individual to wear a mask/face covering upon return to school through the seventh day from the test date,” the memo said.

The memo advised that asymptomatic people with household COVID-19 exposure mask for at least one week from symptom onset.

Distancing Recommendations

The Bucks County Department of Health did not offer specific recommendations on physical distancing. The memo emphasized the goal of maintaining the capacity for in-person learning.

“The [county health department] supports any school district efforts to socially distance when feasible, while still prioritizing the importance of in-person instruction,” the health department wrote. “There is no need to limit classroom capacity at this time.”

Where To Find More Info

The full list of answers to frequently asked questions, as authored by County Commissioners and the director of Bucks County’s Department of Health, can be found here.

Individual school district websites offer the most up-to-date information on their specific plans and policies. Several district boards, including Pennsbury and New Hope-Solebury, will meet this week to discuss proposed changes to health and safety plans.

The most up-to-date data on COVID-19 numbers in the county can be found on the Bucks County website.

“For any data not found on the site, the [county health department] will work with school districts to provide additional information they can use to establish TTM policies,” Sunday’s memo read. “The [county health department] encourage[s] school districts to share data with the community as appropriate to empower parents to make informed choices for their children.”

Patch also regularly posts updates on regional and local COVID-19 data.

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