News Update

Placer County off state monitoring list, bringing total to 40 counties

The county monitoring list that guides when schools can reopen for in-person instruction continues to fluctuate daily, with Placer County dropping off the list Wednesday, bringing the total to 40 of the state’s 58 counties that have been on the list for three or more days. San Francisco County is expected to drop off on Thursday, Gov. Newsom said during his Wednesday news briefing.

With San Diego and Placer Counties off the list, it now covers 745 districts and 1,060 charter schools with a combined 5,323,076 students. That’s 87.67% of students in the state.

Theresa Harrington / EdSource

Gov. Newsom discusses the county monitoring list that determines when schools and businesses can reopen during an Aug 19, 2020 news briefing.

When asked about a private school that called itself a day care center and opened in Sacramento County, which is on the list, Newsom said he was not aware of that specific situation, but he acknowledged that some people may be “testing the boundaries of some of the state orders,” and said local health officers should enforce the orders to ensure that students and school staffs are safe. He reiterated that schools in counties not on the monitoring list can provide in-person learning with modifications, but added that community spread of Covid-19 must be taken into consideration.

Newsom said the state expects to release updated guidance next week related to modifications for reopening businesses, which could include 21-day waiting periods instead of the current 14-days, so that reopening is “sustainable, not just episodic,” as the state anticipates a “second wave” of Covid-19 infection in the fall.  However, he didn’t say which sectors the new guidance would affect.


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