ALBANY COUNTY — The State Education Department today issued guidance for opening schools in September.

The 21-page document fills the void left on Aug. 5 when the state’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker, announced that the long-anticipated guidance for schools to reopen safely in September would not be forthcoming. “School districts are re-established as the controlling entity,” he said.

“The overall goals for the 2021-2022 school year are to keep students and staff healthy and safe, be responsive to student needs, and maximize in-person teaching and learning,” the guide says. 

It is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Since the state directives are based on the same two sources used by Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen in her advice to school leaders, they are very similar to what local districts were already working from.

The CDC recommends a layered approach to mitigation strategies in schools, based on levels of community transmission, such as wearing masks, COVID-19 screening testing, cohorting, improved ventilation, handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes, staying home when sick with symptoms of infectious illness including COVID-19, and regular cleaning to help reduce transmission risk.

Currently, Albany County and the entire state of New York are labeled by the CDC as having a high rate of community transmission.

The county’s transmission rate, as a seven-day average, is 115.87 cases per 100,000 population; the state’s rate is 133.1 per 100,000. Nationwide, the rate is 239 per 100,000 population.

“As transmission levels rise,” the guide says, “schools should be prepared to take steps such as increasing physical distancing to minimize transmission. Schools should plan for all contingencies and be prepared to pivot to remote instruction as necessary. These plans should be clearly communicated to students, families, staff, and community stakeholders.”

Some of the key topics addressed in the guide include:

— Masks: The CDC has recently updated its guidance on masks due to emerging evidence that the Delta variant of COVID-19, currently the predominant strain in the United States, is more infectious and has led to increased transmissibility when compared to other variants, even in vaccinated people.

The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status and community transmission levels.

At recent school board meetings in Guilderland and Voorheesville, parents have spoken out against required masks for their children.

The Facebook page, Unmask New York School Children Now, which says it was created on May 18, 2021 and currently has 15,641 members, posts dozens of local school board meetings for members to attend.

“Please take the time to review videos that were shared on our Facebook page from other school board meetings so that you can be up to speed on the issues,” writes administrator Jeff Thomas in a recent post. “This cannot go on any longer! It needs to end now. Your school board has the power to end it”;

— Physical distancing and cohorting: The CDC recommends that schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask-wearing, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully reopen while maintaining these distances, it is important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as cohorting — that is, keeping a group of students together.

A distance of at least 6 feet is recommended between students and teachers or staff, and between teachers or staff who are not fully vaccinated;

— Sports: At a minimum, the guide says, students and adults should follow the same school-day policies and procedures during athletic and extracurricular activities.

Students should refrain from these activities when they have COVID-19 symptoms.

Schools are strongly encouraged to use COVID-19 screening testing for student athletes, students participating in extracurricular activities or other activities with elevated risk (such as activities that involve singing, shouting, band, and exercise that could lead to increased exhalation), and adults (e.g., coaches, teachers, advisors) who are not fully vaccinated.

The guide also says, “High-risk sports and extracurricular activities should be virtual or canceled in areas of high community transmission unless all participants are fully vaccinated.”

The guide stresses the importance for vaccination of anyone who is eligible — that is, 12 years or older — and quotes CDC guidance: “Vaccination is the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Promoting vaccination can help schools safely return to in-person learning as well as extracurricular activities and sports.” 

The guide also stresses the importance of testing to identify and isolate cases. It recommends screening in areas with substantial or high community transmission levels or with low vaccination coverage as well as for certain higher risk activities or in schools where other prevention strategies are not implemented.

“Reopening amidst a pandemic for the second consecutive year is truly a daunting task,” said Commissioner Betty A. Rosa in a statement, releasing the guide. “Our hope is that this guide, coupled with the input of local health officials will help the state’s education community as they prepare for September.”

Newest numbers

The Capital Region continues to have the highest rate of infection of any of the state’s 10 regions at 4.37 percent; the statewide rate is 3.05 percent.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, in a release on Thursday morning, reported 51 new cases of COVID-19: 29 did not have a clear source of infection, 13 had close contact with someone infected with the disease, six reported traveling out of state, and three are healthcare workers or residents of congregate living settings.

There are now 351 active cases in the county, up from 335 on Wednesday. The number of Albany County residents under quarantine increased to 696 from 651.

There were three new hospitalizations since Wednesday, and 21 county residents are now hospitalized with the virus — a net increase of three. There are still four patients currently in intensive-care units.

Albany County’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 388.

“Unfortunately, we continue to see an upward trend in COVID hospitalizations in Albany County,” said McCoy in the release. “We now have the highest number of residents in the hospital with the virus at a given time since May 11. It was only 10 days ago when that number was down to five.

“As we’ve seen across the U.S., the vast majority of those who are hospitalized have not been vaccinated. I continue to urge people to get the shot if they haven’t already. And if you have, please encourage friends and families to do the same. We’re hosting vaccine clinics every day, and we still have a homebound delivery option as well.”

As of Thursday evening, 67.6 percent of Albany County’s 307,117 residents have received at least one dose of vaccine as have 78.4 percent of residents 18 or older, according to the state’s vaccine tracker.

Statewide, 64.6 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one dose as have 77.0 percent of New Yorkers 18 and older.