The medical officer for Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools, Dr. Patricia Kapunan, said on Wednesday that 鈥渃lassroom outbreaks鈥� of COVID-19 have been reported 鈥渋n a few schools across the county.鈥�
Kapunan explained that when three or more students or staff members in a classroom test positive for COVID-19, that it’s considered an outbreak.
The school system鈥檚 protocols this year call for masking in those classrooms when an outbreak occurs.
“Students who cannot safely and consistently mask due to young age, a medical condition or developmental disability are not required to do so,” Kapunan wrote.
During Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich鈥檚 weekly media briefing, Dr. Kisha Davis, the county鈥檚 health officer, said 鈥淚 know everybody wants COVID to be gone and to not talk about it anymore, [but] COVID鈥檚 still here.鈥�
Davis, who said her office worked closely with Kapunan on the policies in place in the county school system, added, 鈥淚t certainly is reasonable to ask kids who have been exposed to an outbreak to mask for a short period of time.鈥�
Davis emphasized that when the mask policy is required, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the entire school, it鈥檚 not the entire grade, it鈥檚 isolated to those kids that are affected for the shortest time period that we can do based on CDC recommendations.”
During Wednesday鈥檚 briefing, Davis added that there was an , but the community level remains in the “low” category. She said the bump in COVID-19 numbers shouldn鈥檛 come as a surprise.
鈥淭he last couple of years we鈥檝e seen a late summer wave 鈥� a wavelet 鈥� I would say,鈥� and added, 鈥淲hat we are seeing is a pretty mild disease.鈥�
