Author: Jessica Gregory

Dane County schools teaching grades 3-12 will be virtual to start the school year, beginning August 24 at midnight. Public Health Madison and Dane County issued Emergency Order #9 Friday evening allowing grades K-2 to be taught in-person. Schools may still choose to offer an online alternative for these young students. 

Local health officials determined that for all grades to return to their campuses, Dane County must average less than 19 positive cases per day for at least two weeks. At this time, the county is averaging 42 per day. 

Officials used resources from state and national health departments to determine their metrics for both closing and reopening schools and will continually monitor the evolving situation. 

The order accounts for current projections displaying that children have a lower probability of contracting COVID-19 than adults, but Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway says that lowering Dane County's cases is a community effort. 

“We all have a role to play in suppressing the virus to a level that will allow us to reopen all schools.” said Rhodes-Conway. 

The county has not seen any deaths of COVID-19 positive children. 

Emergency order #9 also reiterates that community members must adhere to social distancing and facial covering guidelines in enclosed buildings. It also covers the exceptions to those guidelines, such as when an individual is eating or drinking, or if an individual's medical condition prevents it.