Officials relax some distancing, other guidance in Pennsylvania schools

Pennsylvania schools can reduce physical distancing requirements between students, officials announced Tuesday, bringing the state in line with the most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While students, teachers and staff were previously required to maintain six feet of distance, the new guidelines allow students to be three feet apart in elementary schools, and in middle or high schools in counties with low or moderate community transmission.

Six feet of distance should be maintained among older students in areas with substantial community spread, in common areas like auditoriums and lobbies and during activities with “increased exhalation” – like sports, singing or shouting. These activities should also be moved outdoors or in large, well ventilated rooms, officials said.

“We recognize the critical importance of in-person instruction and hope that this step…will foster greater flexibility for school communities as they serve students each day,” said Matt Stem, Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary of education.

Stem and Dr. Wendy Braund, covid-19 response director at the state Department of Health, noted the six-feet rule still applies for adults in the buildings, and between adults and students.

“The change in the distance is based on real-world evidence,” Braund said. According to studies, she said, “the level of transmission is not substantially different at a three foot difference between children, versus six feet. We know that child-to- child transmission is relatively rare and that transmission in school is most often among the adults and adult-to-child.”

Masks are still required in school buildings.

State officials also eased requirements relating to school closures in the event of covid cases, effective Monday, April 5. Depending on the level of community transmission and other factors, the number of cases triggering a closure may have decreased (a “minimal” change, Stem said), and the amount of time a building must remain closed may have decreased.

A chart explaining the exact parameters can be found on the Department of Education website.

For example, the recommendation for closures to in-person learning in some instances is reduced to 1-2 days from three-seven days and five days from 14 days, officials said. The closures allow for cleaning and for public health staff to direct close contacts to quarantine.

“It is essential for us to remember that if cases are at a level in a school that requires the building to close, the school must suspend all in-person instruction and extracurriculars,” Braund said. “Including school sports in that building.”

The officials said the new recommendations put schools in a better position to fully reopen for face-to-face instruction. Most districts across Western Pennsylvania have done so already, at least under hybrid models.

Braund said the state also aims to complete its initiative to vaccinate teachers and school staff this week. As of Tuesday afternoon, she said, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency is reporting more than 112,272 teachers have been vaccinated through the initiative.

The relaxed recommendations come as cases rise in the region and across the state – but transmission of covid-19 within schools has been relatively low throughout the pandemic, studies have shown. Vaccinations are also increasing overall: Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday said about 31% of Pennsylvania residents have gotten their first dose of covid vaccine. He estimated the state is about 75% of the way through Phase 1A.