Monroe County’s COVID-19 infection rate has been dropping steadily the last three weeks, but the county’s Director of Public Health Dr. Michael Mendoza says it’s too early for schools to go back to how things were before the pandemic.
Dr. Mendoza spoke in a zoom meeting with Monroe County Legislators Monday Evening, saying we aere “not yet at the place where we can have schools fully reopen five days a week.”
Mendoza said he’s not an expert in schools, he’s an expert in public health and science. He said his job is to analyze data and make recommendations to the school districts and to the State Health Department. Allowing the resumption of full-time classroom instruction is between the individual school districts and the state, said Mendoza, according to his understanding. He said any change in the current guidelines would come from the state and not from his office.
Three local districts, Greece, Fairport and Victor, have written to Governor Cuomo asking for updated guidance on reopening classes and whether students may be closer to each other than six feet.