New school reopening guidelines are on their way in California after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidance Friday, now recommending that schools can sit students at a distance of three feet, rather than six feet.
Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said the California Department of Public Health has indicated that its guidance for school reopenings in the state will be updated.
The new guidance from the CDC is dependent on if community spread of COVID-19 has been controlled in the areas looking to bring more students back to campus, Vohra said during a county health briefing Friday.
Per the CDC’s guidance, the new three-foot recommendation also is dependent on students continuing to wear masks in the classroom.
“Hopefully that spacing change will allow more kids to come back for in-person schooling,” Vohra said. “So the CDPH just sent out a quick memo in response to that CDC announcement saying that they are aware that they are going to be working on crafting new guidance and that we can look forward to at least seeing a draft of that new guidance in the next several days.”
Vaccine administration breaks 300,000
The effort to vaccinate Fresno County has continued in a strong way.
Fresno County has administered 320,283 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to residents, and 87,727 individuals have received both required doses and are fully vaccinated.
One out of every five Fresno County residents has received at least one dose, and one out of every four residents who are eligible to receive the vaccine has received at least one dose.
The 65 and older age group – the most vulnerable population – has seen 42,000 people become fully vaccinated, and 84,000 individuals in that age range group have received at least one dose.
Fresno County Public Health Director Dave Pomaville said the county will receive 39,000 doses next week. All doses will be the Moderna and Pfizer versions, both of which require two shots.
