Masks are recommended, not mandated

The coronavirus “incident command team” will reconvene to finalize district COVID-19 protocols as the 2021-22 school year nears.
Luverne School Board members reviewed a draft of the protocols at an Aug. 12 workshop. Members David Wrigg and Eric Hartman were not at the meeting.
The workshop was an open meeting; however, the board took no public comments. No formal decisions were made.
Discussion focused on the growing list of COVID-19 protocols recommended by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Eight citizens attended the meeting along with six licensed school staff and two principals.
The incident command team consists of parents, public health professionals, the school nurse, public health, school administrators and school board members.
Superintendent Craig Oftedahl will reconvene the group to meet weekly ahead of the Sept. 7 school year opening.
“We’ll talk through the whole process and do what makes sense in how we keep people safe,” he said.
The team first assembled when the coronavirus reached pandemic numbers in early 2020 in Minnesota.
At that time, the state mandated schools to close the buildings and conduct distance learning to students’ homes. When school resumed in the fall of 2020, masks were required to be worn by staff and students when meeting in person during the 2020-21 school year.
Face coverings are not recommended and are not mandated for the upcoming school year.
The only exception is masks must be worn on school buses. That federal mask mandate is in effect until mid-September.
“Right now it is a personal preference whether or not you want to wear masks (in the school buildings),” Oftedahl said.
“There are a lot of personal feelings around the table and I understand that. We’ll have to make some decisions going forward as things change or we get mandated to do something.”
Vaccinations (currently only available to those ages 12 and older) are also a potential recommendation from the district.
Because COVID-19 spreads rapidly through the air, classrooms currently meet the minimum four air exchanges an hour. In the newly remodeled middle-high school classrooms, air is exchanged 12 times per hour.
A “layered approach” to prevent the spread of the virus is promoted in the current draft of COVID-19 protocols. Health professionals recognize no single intervention is effective; however, when used together they provide a layer of protection.
Draft protocols include:
•Physical distancing: Schools will create as much physical space between students and teachers as is feasible during the day. However, schools cannot guarantee 6 feet of physical distance at school.
•Face coverings: Based on the CDC and MDH, face coverings are highly recommended for all people within the school building. Masks are available upon request.
•Health screenings: Families will be responsible for daily health screenings prior to their student(s) entering district school buildings. Students and staff are encouraged to stay home if they display any COVID-19 symptoms.
•Transportation: The federal government requires that face coverings be worn at all times on all public transportation. This includes school buses.
•Visitors: Non-essential visitors will be limited during the school hours.
•Return to the classroom: Students will attend school five days a week with a regular schedule following the school calendar. Distance learning will not be available as a full-time option.
Students and staff will practice safety procedures such as regular hand washing, cough etiquette and distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
•Communication: The district will provide on-going and systematic communication from school to staff to families.
•Contact tracing: The MDH requires schools to report all positive COVID-19 cases and conduct contact tracing and identity close contacts. People who test positive for COVID-19 must stay home until all three of these things are true:
1.) They feel better and their symptoms have been resolved.
2.) It has been 10 days since they first felt sick or tested positive.
3.) They have no fever for at least 24 hours without medication.
Close contacts include anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes over a 24-hour period.
The school will notify parents when a student has been considered a close contact due to a positive case at school. Parents should monitor their children for symptoms and keep students at home if they are ill.
Parents are expected to quarantine their child(ren) if there is a positive COVID-19 case in the household.
Exceptions to the close contact quarantine include fully vaccinated people and people who have had COVID-19 in the past 90 days.
The Luverne district will also follow the recommended Minnesota State High School League’s layering prevention strategies for all extra-curricular options.
The most recent information from the MSHSL was released Aug. 12.