All students and staff will be required to wear a mask when they return to school, according to an executive order announced by Gov. Tate Reeves on Tuesday.
Reeves spent the weekend reviewing reopening plans from every public school district in the state and said that most are well prepared for the challenge, but he urged districts planning on using only remote instruction to reconsider providing an in-person option.
“Obviously there has been a lot of time, effort, and I believe thought put into each of these plans,” Reeves said. “Some of these are better plans than others.”
The new school year will be delayed by at least two weeks in eight counties after Reeves signed another executive order affecting Bolivar, Coahoma, Forrest, George, Hinds, Panola, Sunflower and Washington counties.
“We need to pump the breaks,” he said.
Reeves said sending students back to school is imperative as long as it can safely be done.
“If there is anything essential in this world, it is our schools,” he said. “We also know that teenagers can be effective spreaders of the virus and we need to reduce our transmission.”
He said all school districts provided aggressive cleaning and sanitization plans and have ideas to support distance education.
“Overwhelmingly, schools are working hard to provide for a safe return,” Reeves said. “Every school had some contingencies for virtual learning, which we know will be part of the equation this year.”
Of the 244 school districts, 71 provided plans to return on a schedule that blends in-person and distance learning.
Another 49 districts will return next week, another 14 by the week of Aug. 17 and 23 others are scheduled to return after that.
The rest are either back in school or will be at some point this week, Reeves said.
Amite County School District officials recently decided to delay the start of the school year to Sept. 8 because of the spread of the virus.
“Those closest to the classroom will be in the best position to make those decisions,” he said.
Guidance from the Mississippi State Department of Health suggests that schools operate at 50% capacity and that every household have the choice to participate in school remotely. Reeves asked students and families to adhere to that guidance.
“They offer the best wisdom our health experts have to mitigate the spread of COVID-19” Reeves said. “We have seen, over the last several weeks, that when people participate and wear masks it helps.”
Mississippi is dealing with two public health crises, Reeves said — the rapid spread of coronavirus and the closure of state public schools.
“The CDC says that the public health risk of extended school closures outweigh the risk of opening them,” Reeves said, adding that students may lack access to nutrition, care and supervision.
Corinth School District started back at school last Monday and reported its first coronavirus infection on Friday. School officials said 14 others were directly exposed, and there were 93 students and staff members in isolation after confirmed exposure as of Tuesday afternoon. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said at least six other students have since tested positive for the disease.
“Every school that opens is going to have some child, some teenager with coronavirus walking through the door,” he said.
