COLUMBUS — Noting that what is occurring in communities regarding COVID-19 will be reflected in schools, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday welcomed several doctor’s to speak about the virus in children and repeated that the best chance for kids to remain in schools and participate in activities is for communities to slow the spread of the virus.
“If it’s high COVID spread throughout the community, it’s going to be high in your school,” he said. “No matter how good the schools are, they basically get kids coming out of a community that may be high, so my plea today is for parents, grandparents, even if you don’t have a kid in school, if we want our kids to go to school, if we want them to be there in person, if we want them to play sports, if we want them to be in whatever club they’re in, whatever their passion is … it’s incumbent upon every single one of us to do everything we can to keep down the spread in the community which that school lives.”
According to information gathered by the Ohio Department of Education, 325 public school districts in Ohio are planning to return to school full-time which equates to approximately 590,000 students. A total of 55 districts representing approximately 398,000 public school students will begin the school year remotely. Approximately 380,000 students in 154 public school districts will start the school year with a hybrid of online and in-person learning. Information on 78 public school districts was not readily available.
“I think our schools are doing a very good job of getting ready,” DeWine said. “Our teachers, our principals, folks that just work in the school whether it’s in the cafeteria … every day they work hard when there’s no COVID to protect our kids.
“I have every confidence that they’re going to do everything they can and have taken every precaution they can to keep your children or grandchildren safe when they go back to school,” he continued.
Dr. John Barnard from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus spoke on behalf of the six children’s hospitals in the state.
“Children get coronavirus infection, let’s be really crystal clear,” he said. “Fortunately, most children are reasonably well with their symptoms of COVID-19. We know that about 90% of them do … exceedingly well. However, a smaller fraction, 10% or a little less, actually get sick and need to be in the hospital, and some children with certain medical conditions can actually become critically ill and be hospitalized in our Ohio’s children’s hospitals and our intensive care units.”
Barnard said, of the children who have tested positive in the state, 8% have required to admission to a children’s hospital and 1% have been in the intensive care unit.
“It can be a very serious disease in children, and some of these cases involve children with underlying medical conditions such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 diabetes, for example,” he said.
He noted the prevalence of positive tests in children is four to six times higher in minority groups such as Hispanic and black children.
“That’s an observation that’s really played out across the United States and it certainly seems to be playing out here in Ohio,” he added.
Barnard added many have heard about the multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, and he said there have been 13 cases in the state’s children’s hospitals, which is fewer than many other states have reported.
Dr. Patty Manning from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital said there are still studies ongoing about how much children spread COVID.
“There’s some very early research that suggests that the type of spread may vary by the age of the child, but it’s preliminary and it’s hard to really extend that research beyond some initial thoughts,” she said. “I think it’s safe to say that if a child has COVID, they can be contagious whether they’re symptomatic or not.”
However, Manning noted younger children that require closer contact in their care might be at more risk of spreading because they are in closer contact with a caregiver. Manning added close contact means within 6 feet of someone for more than 10 or 15 minutes, and most care for younger children will be longer than that.
Manning added pediatricians are supportive and biased in the direction of in-person education when it’s possible and safe. Manning said the most important strategies for schools and parents to know include everyone in grades K-12 wearing a face mask; distancing; hand hygiene; cleaning surfaces, especially on high-contact surfaces; and better ventilation.
Manning noted while six feet of distancing is recommended, benefits are also seen at smaller amounts of distancing.
“Three feet is also good, and four feet is a little bit than three feet and five feet is better than four feet,” she said. “We know there’s a continuum of safety that can be in place in schools.
“We also all recognize how hard it may be to keep children six feet apart at all times,” she continued. “I’ve talked to many families and many teachers about doing your best, recognizing that some distance is better than no distance and six feet is optimal but not always achievable.”
Manning added, when all of those measures are used together, that’s when the most benefit will be seen.
“Together they create a very robust package for safety,” she said, adding it’s important for the community to embrace these measures as well. “If we want kids to wear masks, we have to wear masks. We have to model that behavior for them as the adults and parents in their lives, so it’s really all-for-one in this type of climate that we’re in.”
Manning also noted it’s important to let kids know that it’s OK for them to feel uncertain and that everyone is learning as they go.
“Parents talking to their children and giving them some warning and some head’s up about what may be coming, doing a little bit of rehearsal about mask wearing and hand hygiene,” she said. “Most children, and most people really, benefit from structure, so preparing children who might not have had a lot of structure over the past several months … (it’s) important to get back on a schedule.”
Governor: Thousands of students to attend in-person classes
Almost 400,000 students in 55 districts will be attending online, while about 380,000 students in 154 districts will be doing some combination of in-person and online classes, the governor said. The state didn’t have information for 78 additional districts.
DeWine said he believes that schools are doing a good job of getting ready for all options.
But children’s well-being as they return to classes, and their ability to do activities ranging from sports to band to theater, will be influenced by community efforts to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, the governor emphasized in Tuesday remarks. That includes continued mask wearing, social distancing and avoiding mass gatherings.
“It’s incumbent upon all of us, every single one of us, to do everything we can to keep down the spread in the community in which that school lives,” DeWine said.
The Department of Health reported 1,422 probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, above below the state’s seven-day case average. The agency has reported more than 104,000 probable and confirmed cases to date, with more than 3,700 deaths.