Oregon Department Of Education Announces Plans For COVID In the Classroom

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Education on Wednesday announced COVID-19 plans for the upcoming school year.

Decisions about COVID in the classroom will be made locally.

ODE Director Colt Gill said that plan worked well last year, “As the year progressed, we moved more and more to local decision making, based on local COVID-19 conditions…our local school districts and public health authorities are ready to continue these efforts to preserve in-person instruction this school year.”

He said you can expect plans to change throughout the year and urges flexibility, “We know that the mitigation efforts work…You may see some districts that relax certain mitigations or increase other areas…those may change from time to time as you see other variants come and go in Oregon.”

State Health Officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger adds that one guideline that will remain uniform across the state is that there will not be a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for students, “I don’t see that coming this coming school year or anytime soon.”

Wednesday’s announcement comes after the CDC dropped quarantining for COVID as long individuals don’t feel sick, get tested after five days and wear a high-quality mask around others for 10 days.

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