Minnesota schools grapple with shifts in COVID-19 cases

School officials across the state are wrestling with one of the thorniest questions in pandemic-era education - at what point should they close classrooms in favor of distance learning to slow the spread of COVID-19?

Despite state guidelines to help school districts decide whether or when to switch to hybrid or full-time remote learning models, the recommendations are nonbinding, leaving it to district administrators to make the final call amid ever-shifting medical science and fluctuating daily COVID-19 case counts.

"It puts schools in a bind," said Dr. Beth Thielen, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. "As things are changing very rapidly, they are having to adjust course very rapidly, and I don't envy them that task of having to change their education plans for every few weeks, based on where things are."

https://www.startribune.com/in-class-virtual-hybrid-schools-watch-covid-19-data-to-decide/572568052/