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County officials are issuing the guidance as families and education officials continue to grapple with the idea of resuming in-person classes in the coming weeks, and after Gov. Greg Abbott barred local officials from ordering campus shutdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Under the non-binding guidance, Hidalgo and county health officials recommended that school districts offer only virtual instruction as long as Harris County, across a 14-day span, records more than 400 new COVID-19 cases per day, remains above a 5 percent test positivity rate or continues to devote more than 15 percent of hospital beds to COVID-19 patients.

School districts are advised to reopen with reduced capacity as those metrics improve and Harris County hospitals see a 14-day average flattening or decrease in their general and intensive care unit bed populations. At that point, school officials can consult with Harris County Public Health officials on their plans to reopen.

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Researchers at Harvard's Global Health Institute recommended that schools could begin to partially reopen once daily case counts total about 25 per 100,000 residents -- a metric that El Paso's health authority, Hector Ocaranza, followed in issuing his campus reopening guidelines.

Harris County's metric recommends starting to reopen only once daily case counts reach about 8.5 per 100,000 residents.

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Hidalgo and county health officials framed the guidance as a "roadmap to reopening schools" at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. The metrics will be presented using the county's existing COVID-19 "threat level system" a color-coded mechanism the county is using to advise residents on the severity of the pandemic and are based in part on models used in other states and countries, according to a draft of the roadmap.

Tying school reopenings to the county's threat-level system "takes out the politics and focuses on the data," Hidalgo said. "It provides a common playbook that all schools in Harris County and everyone in our community can use."

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Once conditions improve, the county roadmap advises that school districts can reopen at 25 percent capacity or 500 students, whichever is lower. They can increase to 50 percent or 1,000 students when the county reaches even lower levels, before returning to regular in-person levels at the fourth and final level.

The roadmap states that the county must see a decrease in all four metrics daily cases, positivity rate, hospital usage rate and hospital population before moving to the next reopening phase.

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cone said:

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so you think HISD is going to go against the county judge?

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Harvard's Global Health Institute gives OK to start reopening at 25 new daily cases per 100K residents, w/other metrics accounted. Harris gives OK at 8.5 per 100K.

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Under the non-binding guidance, Hidalgo and county health officials recommended that school districts offer only virtual instruction as long as Harris County, across a 14-day span, records more than 400 new COVID-19 cases per day, remains above a 5 percent test positivity rate or continues to devote more than 15 percent of hospital beds to COVID-19 patients.

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cone said:

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so you think HISD is going to go against the county judge?

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The roadmap states that the county must see a decrease in all four metrics daily cases, positivity rate, hospital usage rate and hospital population before moving to the next reopening phase.

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CowtownAg06 said:

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I read it as 400 cases per day and either 5% positive or 15% of medical resources. Regardless it's a ridiculous set of criteria.

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To move down the ladder of the threat level system, all the thresholds for the indicators must be met sustainably.

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htxag09 said:

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CowtownAg06 said:

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I read it as 400 cases per day and either 5% positive or 15% of medical resources. Regardless it's a ridiculous set of criteria.

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The below quote is bolded in this article:

https://www.readyharris.org/a-roadmap-to-reopen-schools

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To move down the ladder of the threat level system, all the thresholds for the indicators must be met sustainably.

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blindey said:

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Ag_07 said:

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Don't forget HISD has lost contact with close to 8,000 students since March.

So please explain to me how virtual learning is going to happen for hose 8,000 students.

I can't figure out if I wanna laugh or cry.

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candidly I'm shocked a left leaning advocacy group hasn't fired up a federal lawsuit alleging the suffering minority and economically disadvantaged children will suffer due to scientifically dubious policy.

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NoahAg said:

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How many trial lawyers are waiting to pounce once the first kid catches the covid at school?

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TXTransplant said:

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Probably about the same as the number of civil rights attorneys who are ready to sue that underprivileged kids are being denied equal opportunity to an education.

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jenn96 said:

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So its heads I win, tails you lose.

If we increase testing, we'll find asymptomatic and mild cases and even though people are not getting badly sick and using up medical resources, they will count towards positive cases and the cases stay high. Sorry stay home! And BTW **** your kids. And if you work away from home and do not have someone to take care of the kids, **** you too. Oh, you already used up the emergency paid leave in the Spring when your kids were forced to stay home? Well, let me see what I can do, yep, **** you again.

If only symptomatic cases get tested, the total number of cases drops but the positivity rate will stay high. Sorry stay home! And BTW **** your kids.

So we have flattened the curve, kept hospitals from being overwhelmed and are working on herd immunity. And those are apparently all bad things.

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