Utah’s public-school year is set to begin next month, yet no official plans for COVID-19 guidelines have been released.Utah Department of Health spokesperson Jenny Johson says the department is working closely with the 13 local health departments, health officials, school districts, Utah State Board of Education, legislature, public health, and infectious disease experts to come up with the best plan possible.
Johnson says school children are much more vulnerable this year than they were last year due to the Delta variant, which she says is “far, far, far more contagious.”
Johnson says the working group wants Utah children in the classrooms, despite the associated risks. She says the question is how to do that as safely as possible while “balancing the political constraints” they are currently under.
Johnson says there is still a lot to be decided, but she hopes an official plan will be out in the next few weeks.
