Schools and virus spread

In late July, the Colorado public-health department released new K-12 school guidelines that left the choice of whether to require masks up to school districts — and across the metro area, school mask rules now vary widely. Some districts didn't mandate masks, and others are requiring them for vaccinated and unvaccinated people alike.

Asked whether a lack of masks in full-time in-person classes would lead to greater coronavirus spread in the broader community, Tri-County responded:

“In an environment where people (and) students are unvaccinated, COVID-19 will spread. That is the nature of this virus, and the Delta (variant) makes that even more concerning. We continue to work with our school districts in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties to prioritize in-person learning and institute prevention strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”

In March, John Douglas, head of Tri-County Health, said he thinks it's unlikely that a return to full-time in-person schooling would affect virus spread in the surrounding communities, especially because many teachers had been vaccinated.

“There haven't been too many reports where schools drive community transmission — it seems to be virtually the opposite,” Douglas said at the time.

Douglas pointed to a then-recent report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that reiterated that schools have low rates of COVID-19 transmission.

The information “has continued to reinforce that notion” that schools are safe, under the circumstances, if they adhere to safety precautions, Douglas had said.

Among some other steps for limiting COVID-19 spread, the CDC says schools should implement the following strategies:

• Promoting COVID-19 vaccination.

• “Consistent and correct” use of masks.

• Physical distancing among people who are not fully vaccinated.

• Improving ventilation.

But now, many schools across the metro area will see students return with no requirements for masks in school buildings, and it's unclear how much physical distancing will take place with students able to attend class full-time.

Asked whether Tri-County Health is confident that schools have optimal ventilation systems to mitigate COVID spread, the health agency said in its statement: “This is not something we have evaluated with each school or school district and therefore cannot comment on our confidence in ventilation systems.”

The agency emphasized that all students over the age of 2 years are required to wear masks on school buses, in alignment with the CDC's requirement for masks on public transportation.

The Colorado public-health department's new K-12 school COVID-19 guidance  “does not constitute statewide requirements,” a state news release said. Instead, the guidance outlines “best practices” for local governments and school districts.

Vaccinations continue amid Delta concerns

Tri-County Health in late July announced it recommends that “all persons wear masks in school settings regardless of vaccination status and, as long as we have rising rates of community transmission, that everyone including fully vaccinated persons wear a mask in public indoor settings,” according to a news release.

In light of new data on the Delta coronavirus variant, the CDC in late July updated its guidance for fully vaccinated people. The CDC now recommends "universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status," according to its website.

The CDC's change in guidance was based on surges in infection due to the Delta variant in many parts of the United States, as well as evolving understanding of vaccinated persons' ability to transmit Delta infection and slowing rates of vaccination, according to the Tri-County news release.

Tri-County Health officials are “seeing promising trends in the 12-and-up vaccination rates in all three counties,” the agency's statement said. As of Aug. 10, 72.9% of the counties' 12-plus population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Among the 12-to-15 age group, specifically, in Adams, 47.8% had initiated or completed the vaccination process, compared with 56.2% in Arapahoe and 55.5% in Douglas, according to Tri-County data. For the 16-to-17 age group, Adams stood at 57.6%, Arapahoe at 66.1% and Douglas at 67.2%.