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State urges vaccines and masking to maintain in-person learning

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus observes an elementary classroom last January. KER BROWN/WFDD

State officials are emphasizing the importance of vaccines and masking as tools to maintain in-person learning.  

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is urging K-12 schools to promote vaccinations and booster shots for all students and staff.

The department also says that indoor mask-wearing is key to keeping students in the classroom.

Officials say that excluding a student or staff member from school following a COVID-19 exposure should be a last resort.

The latest guidance from NCDHHS says a person exposed to COVID-19 can still attend school if they are up to date on vaccinations, if they have had a confirmed case within 90 days, or if masks were properly worn at the time of the exposure.

The department has also added a Test-To-Stay Option to further reduce absences in schools that require mask-wearing.

Under this scenario, the person exposed to COVID-19 should get tested the day they have been notified of the exposure. They should then get retested five days after the exposure, wear a mask in public settings for 10 days, and stay home when not in the classroom.

NCDHHS has incorporated these findings into its Public Health Toolkit.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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