2/9/21: L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told school leaders Tuesday that school reopening could precede universal vaccinations for teachers.
The public increasingly has demanded that schools re-open immediately. School districts and teachers unions, who are in the next tier of vaccinations, want to wait to open until teachers and other staff to receive COVID-19 immunizations as many are demanding.
Ferrer’s message — delivered in a private briefing for school leaders — contained positive news on the coronavirus infection rate. “It’s dropping quickly enough to meet the state standard for reopening elementary schools as soon as next week,” she said in a recording published by the Los Angeles Times.
“By next week, we will probably hit that threshold,” Ferrer said. “We are getting very close. ... Our case numbers are way down now, as we had hoped.”
The rate would then have to remain at that level for five days — and prospects for on-campus classes still could dim if infections spike, a concern following Super Bowl parties and renewed outdoor dining at restaurants.
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