Albuquerque Public Schools has released a plan to implement enhanced COVID-safe practices, detailing steps a school should take if 3% or more of the school becomes infectious within 14 days.
The plan, released amid case surges throughout the state, outlines steps schools in the district should take based on number of positive cases among staff and students.
“I think we all have COVID fatigue, and it has been a big sacrifice for a lot of people to proctor education from home,” Laura Marrich, a parent to two kids in APS charter schools, told KRQE.
According to the plan, while the enhanced safety requirements are strongly encouraged to be implemented once a school reaches the 3% threshold, if 5% of the school becomes infectious within 14 days, then implementation is mandatory.
Among actions included in the plan are moving classes outdoors, canceling all extracurricular activities and wearing masks outdoors.
If a school remains at high levels of transmission after implementing enhanced mitigation strategies for 10 days, then all classes would be moved to online learning for 14 days.
Upon implementation, additional thresholds could be considered if needed to determine classroom and school closures, the plan states. Enhanced mitigation strategies will be lifted only once COVID-19 cases drop below 3% of the school’s population in the past 14-21 days.