Governor says elementary waivers could allow some schools to reopen sooner

Although Gov. Newsom stressed that schools located in counties on the state’s monitoring list cannot reopen until the county has been removed from the list for 14 consecutive days, he acknowledged that elementary schools can apply for waivers to be allowed to reopen even if their county is on the list.

When asked during his daily news briefing if moving education outdoors instead of indoors  would qualify a school for such a waiver, Newsom said “not so far,” but he is “open to argument.”

Newsom and California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly also emphasized that Covid-19 tests will be prioritized for school personnel in local testing centers and and said the state is planning to expand contact tracing beyond the intitial 10,000 contact tracers statewide, to log Covid-19 exposures in counties and school districts. Newsom said improving contact tracing is important, “particularly as it relates to reopening schools in the state.”

Finally, Newsom reiterated that the sooner everyone in California wears masks, practices physical distancing and refrains from mixing with people outside their household, the sooner kids can get back to school. Currently, 33 counties are on the state’s monitoring list.