Contra Costa Elementary Schools may apply for waiver to open for in-person instruction

Contra Costa Health Services has announced that starting Wednesday, Aug. 19, public and private elementary schools (TK – 6th grade) can submit applications online to local health and education officials to allow in-person instruction at their campuses.

Schools in counties such as Contra Costa on the State’s monitoring list can’t reopen unless granted a waiver by local and state health officials. Schools must show how they would safely conduct in-person classes to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 before being allowed to reopen. CCHS and the County Office of Education have developed a checklist with safety measures schools must take.

Mt. Diablo Unified School District began all distance learning instruction on Monday for 31 elementary schools. Most of the local parochial elementary schools will all open with distance learning programs this week.

Back-to-school challenges

COVID-19 has made the back-to-school season a challenging time. Both for children and their families. Contra Costa Health Services has compiled a list of resources for parents and families to address the challenges of learning from home instead of at school.

Find these resources, along with additional information about school openings, on the County’s schools page.

As of Aug. 18, Contra Costa County has 11,668 known cases, with 1,498 positive cases in Concord. To review a demographic and geographic breakdown of cases, see the County’s COVID-19 dashboard.

For more information, please visit the County website. Residents can also call the Contra Costa County Coronavirus Call Center at (844) 729-8410 daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.