Schools opt for masks, testing over pause in extracurriculars

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 4, 2022

A day after a state recommendation to either pause extracurricular activities in schools or double-down on safety measures like masking, testing and distancing, most Oregon school districts have opted for the latter.

In a health advisory issued by the Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Health Authority Monday, Jan. 3, the state agencies warned of “rapid transmission of COVID-19 that will prevent students from participating in in-person learning” unless schools temporarily halt school sports and other close-contact activities until at least Jan. 31. Absent a temporary pause, the state advised school districts to require masks to be worn during all activities. Oregon no longer requires masks to be worn outdoors and no longer requires school athletes to wear masks indoors while practicing or competing.

Monday’s state health advisory memo was a suggestion, not a mandate, meaning decisions about after-school activities will be made by each school district.

By Tuesday, no Portland-area schools jumped on the advice to temporarily halt extracurriculars.

Portland Public Schools, Oregon’s largest district, says it will continue requiring masks indoors and outdoors for all student athletes and performers, with no plans to cancel any activities. Exceptions will be made for students who play a wind instrument, so long as they utilize a bell cover for the instrument.

The district said it will limit access to locker rooms and won’t allow overnight travel for games or musical performances. Event spectators five and older will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours.

“For now, PPS is continuing our existing schedule for instruction and extracurricular activities, and we are keeping all of our layered health and safety measures in place at all times,” PPS Chief of Staff Jonathan Garcia said. “We did receive the guidance from the State of Oregon this morning. PPS is actively reviewing this guidance and will seek further guidance from local public health officials and our panel of health experts. We plan to provide updated guidelines to our staff and families as soon as possible.”

In a Jan. 2 announcement, the district said it has purchased more than 1 million age-appropriate masks to deliver to schools. As of Jan. 4, PPS had 345 students and 117 staff members isolated due to COVID-19. Another 213 students and 27 staff were quarantined due to off-site exposure, according to data provided daily by the district.

At Central Catholic High School, staff noted the school is continuing with its testing and safety protocols but had no plans to cancel sports or school activities as of Tuesday, Jan. 4.

One of the primary drivers behind the health advisory was the probability of infections leading to mandated quarantine or isolation periods. Under a recently-adopted Test-to-Stay protocol, unvaccinated Oregon students and staff members can return to school after testing negative twice during a quarantine period: once after an exposure is identified and again five to seven days later, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

Fully vaccinated students and staff aren’t subject to quarantines after an exposure to a positive case, but do have to isolate if they test positive. Data shows a surge in breakthrough cases, largely due to the omicron variant of COVID-19.

Oregon’s latest weekly breakthrough case report indicates 36.7% of the nearly 7,000 reported COVID-19 cases during the week of December 19—25 were vaccine breakthrough cases.

Oregon School Activities Association, which regulates interscholastic activities like sports, speech and choir, won’t be making any recommendations of its own.

“The OSAA will continue to review the information from ODE/OHA but at this time decisions regarding any action related to today’s school health advisory are being made at the local school level,” OSAA announced in a Jan. 3 statement. “Per the advisory, local school districts are able to make decisions that they believe work best for their schools and communities as it relates to potential changes to athletics and activities protocols.”

The state health advisory came as Oregon and other parts of the country reached record-breaking coronavirus caseloads.

On Dec. 30, Oregon recorded its highest-ever daily case count of COVID-19 infections. State education leaders warned that the omicron variant is highly contagious, and likely to infect a large number of students in schools.