Updated on April 12th, 2021 to show the number of cases spike on March 24th, 2021.

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The following are the summary of recent changes posted to the Center for Disease Control's school operation guidelines:

• Plain language changes: mitigation to prevention and social distancing to physical distancing.
• Revised physical distancing recommendations to reflect at least 3 feet between students in classrooms and provide clearer guidance when a greater distance (such as 6 feet) is recommended.
• Clarified that ventilation is a component of strategies to clean and maintain healthy facilities.
• Removed recommendation for physical barriers.

The guidelines in full can be found on the CDC website.

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The changes to the school operations guidelines is likely informed by the falling average number of daily new cases in New York State, and signals move towards the eventual renormalization of daily life for New Yorkers. As long as numbers continue to decline, these are mostly welcome changes.

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But while the majority of the population is yet to be vaccinated and the virus remains lethal and highly infectious, monitoring students and faculty is as important as ever. As the huge spike of cases on March 24th demonstrates, a downward trend is no guarantee that the fight against COVID-19 is over. TeloPoint has observed a rise in positive test results in New York City schools in March. This is a reminder that school testing is doing its job and will remain relevant until when, if that day indeed comes, the COVID-19 threat is neutralized.