What COVID-19 precautions are Stanislaus schools planning for winter break return?
With winter break ending this week for some Stanislaus County students and confirmation of the highly contagious COVID-19 omicron variant in the area, a few school districts shared safety plans.
Turlock and Ceres school districts plan to continue in-person learning, spokespeople said, and have distributed — or intend to — COVID-19 test kits to families. Turlock students return Monday, Ceres students Tuesday.
“(Ceres Unified School District) has sent home rapid tests for the convenience of families who wish to test students before they return to school from the winter break,” spokeswoman Beth Parker Jimenez said in an email.
Each school received rapid test kits for all students, Parker Jimenez added. Families can contact their schools if they want one but did not receive it.
Ceres Unified will also take safety precautions consistent with public health guidance, including indoor masking, Parker Jimenez said. A universal indoor mask mandate for California K-12 schools has been in place since July, when state officials announced guidance for the school year.
Turlock Unified School District similarly plans to strictly follow its COVID-19 mitigation protocols, spokeswoman Marie Russell said in an email. The district’s coronavirus safety plan includes self-screening for COVID-19 symptoms, contact tracing and quarantine and isolation requirements.
The district is waiting to receive rapid COVID-19 tests to distribute to students and has been in touch with the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency, Russell said.
“We understand that due to the winter storms, there has been a delay in shipments,” Russell said. “In the meantime, we encourage our families to visit a local library to pick up a free rapid test or utilize other community resources.”
The county has distributed free rapid test kits to libraries in Modesto, Ceres, Denair and Salida, The Bee reported earlier this week.
Oakdale Unified School District resumes instruction Tuesday, but Superintendent Dave Kline did not immediately respond to emails or a voicemail left at his office. The district’s website as of Thursday did not indicate any plans to change classes because of the omicron variant, first confirmed in Stanislaus County on Wednesday.
Winter break continues for some schools
Modesto City Schools, Sylvan Union School District and Patterson Joint Unified School District are among those that resume classes Jan. 10. None of the three have posted online updates regarding new safety measures in light of the latest rise in COVID-19 cases.
The county reported 279 new COVID-19 cases Thursday. Confirmed and suspected cases accounted for 87 hospitalizations, including 19 patients in intensive care units.
County health officials in a Wednesday press release said the omicron variant’s ability to spread quickly could jeopardize hospital capacity in a short period of time. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified omicron as a variant of concern.
