California’s reopening guidance bars indoor college lectures in dozens of counties

Education Dive

Natalie Schwartz

August 10, 2020

Dive Brief:

• California health officials released guidance Friday to help colleges there prepare to hold in-person classes amid the coronavirus pandemic.

• Colleges in the state have been waiting on the guidance and have crafted reopening plans without knowing what health officials would ultimately approve, the Los Angeles Times reported.

• The guidance’s core tenets — which include mandating masks, promoting handwashing and frequently cleaning regularly touched surfaces — also feature in other states’ instructions for reopening higher education institutions this fall.

Dive Insight:

The guidance spells out what safety measures California colleges must implement in order to reopen their campuses this fall. It also bars institutions from holding indoor lectures if they’re located in a county that is on the state’s coronavirus watchlist for three consecutive days, though they can still hold labs and studio arts inside.

State officials are monitoring new coronavirus cases and deaths, among other data, to determine whether they should place counties on the watchlist. About three dozen counties were on it as of Monday afternoon, including those that are home to populous cities such as San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles.

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