n trees/flow charts, and customizable letters, as well as FAQs for isolation and quarantine.
COVID-19 Prevention Guidance for Youth and Student Programs: Outlines the practical application of prevention strategies (e.g. social distancing) to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in youth and student programs. This guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Schools and Childcare Programs.
Guidance for Implementing COVID-19 Prevention Strategies in the Context of Varying Community Transmission Levels and Vaccination Coverage: Provides the scientific basis for updated guidance (07-27-21) from the CDC’s COVID-19 Response Team that local decision-makers should assess the following factors to inform the need for layered prevention strategies across a range of settings: level of SARS-CoV-2 community transmission, health system capacity, vaccination coverage, capacity for early detection of increases in COVID-19 cases, and populations at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19. during June 19–July 23, 2021, COVID-19 cases increased approximately 300% nationally, followed by increases in hospitalizations and deaths, driven by the highly transmissible B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant* of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Although increasing COVID-19 vaccination coverage remains the most effective means to achieve control of the pandemic, additional layered prevention strategies will be needed in the short-term to minimize preventable morbidity and mortality.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Key Preparedness and Response Considerations Fact Sheet: Offers 6 implementation tips to support the use of face masks and PPE in the K-12 learning setting.
Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives: Provides official science-based guidance from the CDC about when and how to wash one’s hands to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and other infections. This website presents clear instructions for students, parents and other caregivers (e.g. school staff), explains the science that supports the instructions, and introduces CDC’s Life Is Better with Clean Hands social marketing campaign materials to support dissemination of this important public health information. Many materials/contents are suitable for direct teaching to K-12 students.
Use of Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19: Provides practical information and guidance (updated 08/12/21) about the use of cloth face coverings to slow and prevent the spread of infections like COVID-19, including particular considerations for children, and for people with special health care needs. The CDC cites this information from the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases in its Readiness and Planning Tool.
Mask Exemptions: Which Students Really Need Them and How Are Parents Getting Them?: Discusses different perspectives of parents, health care providers and public health officials about masking mandates for students and school staff, and presents a state-by-state “school mask mandates at a glance” table. The American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP] and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] recommend universal masking indoors for grades K-12, based on “new evidence” about the highly contagious delta variant. The AAP recommends masks “because a significant portion of the student population is not yet eligible for vaccines, and masking is proven to reduce transmission of the virus and to protect those who are not vaccinated.” Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the COVID vaccine.
Governor's School Mask Directive (Montana): Directs wearing of face coverings in certain indoor and outdoor settings, including public and private K-12 schools, with limited flexibility in specified circumstances when social distancing can provide sufficient protection. This example of a statewide directive about face coverings was extended and adapted by Montana’s Governor on 8/27/20 for the duration of the public health emergency.
Do Face Shields Protect Against COVID-19? A Mask