Central Florida schools are preparing to reopen in August.
AdventHealth Centra Care Medical Director Dr. Tim Hendrix said schools should focus on mitigation measures like wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing.
Hendrix said schools should also have a plan in place if a teacher or student becomes sick which he says will happen once brick-and-mortar classrooms open.
“And this is all about bringing it down close to zero but of course we can’t bring it down to completely zero in terms of risk.”
Hendrix said parents and family members of school-age children should monitor their children but also themselves for symptoms during the school year.
He says children can be carriers of the coronavirus just like they are the flu and other infectious diseases.
AdventHealth pediatrician Dr. Sarah Li said no matter how families choose to restart the school year, children will be returning to a routine which is a good thing.
“You know, if we think about the past few months and how all of that routine has been fractured in a lot of situations, it’s actually quite nice for kids to be able to rely back again on some kind of structure.”
Li said parents should follow CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines when making decisions between in-person and virtual learning.
If you'd like to listen to this story, click on the clip at the top of this page.
