Recent new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is changing how close students can be in a classroom.

Greene County Public Health Director Becky Wolf says students can be at least three-feet apart if they are in areas of low or moderate community transition. However, Wolf notes if middle and high school students are in a high community transition area, they need to maintain at least six-feet of distance. The same is true for teachers.

“You want to maintain that six-foot distance between adults, like teachers and staff, and also between adults and students at all times in the school building.” 

Wolf notes the new guidance does not lessen the use of masks and students who are involved in singing or where heavy breathing is taking place, six-feet for social distancing must remain. She adds the guidance changes if a student is exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus and both parties were not wearing masks.

“If there’s a positive case that three-foot thing goes out the door. We still have to look at six-feet for determining who needs to be quarantined.”

Wolf urges school districts to continue to practice the mitigation measures to prevent further spread of the virus in Greene County.