Some districts are less than a week into school, and we’re already seeing dozens of active COVID cases and well over a hundred students who are in quarantine.
Our newsroom spoke with Butler Health System’s infectious disease director Dr. John Love earlier this month, who said this was a concern heading into the school year.
“This variant appears that an average infected person infects five or six people, maybe more. I look at that and say that’s problematic just by shear numbers. But also what does that mean when you put people in close quarters like a classroom without other mitigations like masking,” Love said.
Love also said masks should be a part of policies to help keep kids in school.
“I just look at the whole thing and feel like it’s just going to be chaotic. I say that because I think if our goal is to keep kids in school, which I think again we can all agree on, the next thing is what can we do to make that goal happen,” Love said. “And for me, masking is a part of that.”
Governor Tom Wolf announced yesterday that masks will be required in classrooms starting next Tuesday.