North Dakota leaders discuss returning to in-person learning with CDC experts

Strategies include usage of masks, social distancing, cleaning and disinfection, hygiene etiquette, and contact tracing

NORTH DAKOTA — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Superintendent Kirsten Baesler and school board members meet with CDC and Brown University officials to discuss strategies for returning to in-person learning.

They are looking at three key indicators, including the number of new cases per 100,000 people and percentage of positive COVID tests over the last 14 days.

They’re also looking at schools’ abilities to implement key mitigation strategies including wearing masks and cleaning.

Burgum says rapid testing and the vaccine rollout are useful tools we didn’t have at the start of the school year.

“As a nation, we’re not yet out of COVID, but certainly in North Dakota things are heading in the right direction right now, and we’ve got the ability to keep pushing forward to in-person learning and do that in a way that’s safe for our students and for our teachers,” he says.

According to the CDC, children of color and those with underlying medical conditions are more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID.