Wisconsin DHS releases reopening guidance for schools, focused on containing COVID-19

MADISON - The Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Wednesday, Aug. 19 released school reopening guidance for local and tribal health departments, aimed at containing COVID-19.

The guidance builds on Education Forward and Reopening School Buildings Risk Assessment Tool documents that were released in June by releasing Guidelines for the Prevention, Investigation, and Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks in K-12 Schools in Wisconsin.

"I always say what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state, and nothing is more important than the education and future of our kids,” said Gov. Tony Evers. “Education, health, and safety all go hand-in-hand, and that is why this pandemic has made school this fall such a complicated issue.

"Whether it’s in-person instruction or virtual learning, we know it’s going to be a difficult start to the school year, and we’re going to have to keep working together to figure out how to best serve our kids.”

The newly released guidelines focus on containing the virus by providing a resource for local and tribal health departments as they investigate and control cases and outbreaks in schools within their jurisdictions.

The guidelines released Wednesday outline preventive measures, including information on best practices for wearing face coverings and students, and detail how to effectively detect and respond to cases and outbreaks in a school. Key guidelines include instructions for school staff in identifying cases and close contacts among students, considerations when it comes to contact tracing, and isolation and quarantine practices for infected or exposed students and staff.

“We know that this virus is highly transmissible, and that we have high levels of COVID-19 activity across the state,” said DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. “We developed this guidance because we want local and tribal health departments to be prepared so that, when outbreaks occur, they can act quickly to address cases and prevent further spread.”

In addition to this written guidance, DHS Public Health experts plan to work alongside local health departments to provide technical assistance to school districts, and DHS will continue to extend resources and assistance when an outbreak is identified.

“It is not possible to eliminate the risk of disease transmission, but schools can implement infection control measures to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission in schools,” said Wisconsin’s Interim State Health Officer Stephanie Smiley.

For up-to-date information about Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage. We also encourage you to follow @DHSWI on Facebook and Twitter, or dhs.wi on Instagram for more information on COVID-19.