The Marshfield Clinic Health System and the Center for Community Advancement have come up with a Back To School Guide to help parents and students get back to school amid COVID-19.
The importance of wearing a face mask, proper hand washing techniques, emotional health, vaccination schedule, and tips for learning at home or school are just a few of the topics explored says Dr. Jeff Clark, Marshfield Clinic-Minocqua Center pediatrician...
"It acknowledges the difficult decisions that go into trying to implement in-person school as safe as possible. But beyond that it's looking at the mental health of both students and their families..."
Dr. Clark says regardless of how a student returns to school, there could be a number of burdens to overcome because of what has transpired with COVID-19. He says the guide outlines the risks, how a parent can do self-care and how children can be brought into the safety practices with as little negative impact as possible.
Clark says children need socialization...
"The negative effects of not getting together, not seeing one another, would outweigh the risks certainly through elementary school age..."
Dr. Clark says the virus risk for elementary age students is lower than other students. He says having students do safe practices is important, and disinfecting classrooms as often as possible is necessary, but then let them interact as they normally would.
There's a link to the Back to School 2020 guide here.
