COVID & Classrooms replay: Watch health, education experts answer your back-to-school questions
Dana BranhamThe Oklahoman is hosting a live panel discussion with health and education leaders about children returning to school as COVID-19 cases are climbing again.
We’ll be discussing schools’ plans to limit the spread of COVID-19, masking and vaccination guidance, and how COVID-19 affects kids.
This panel will be live-streamed at 6 p.m. Thursday , so viewers can tune in below, or visit The Oklahoman's YouTube channel or our Facebook page and ask questions using the chat function. If you'd like to ask questions in advance, fill out the form here.
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The experts joining us are:
- Dr. Mary Clarke, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association
- Dr. Donna Tyungu, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with OU Health
- Jason Brown, deputy superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools
- Matt Holder, superintendent of Sulphur Public Schools
Education reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel and health reporter Dana Branham will be moderating the event. You can watch it here:
Back to school amid surge COVID cases, hospitalizations
With the fall semester just days away, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have climbed dramatically in Oklahoma in recent weeks. Children’s hospitals are treating much higher than normal numbers of kids with RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which means bed space is tight.
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'I feel like I'm sending my kids into the lion's den:Back-to-school worries grow amid COVID surge
Many parents, doctors and education leaders have said they’re concerned about the weeks to come, especially because the delta variant — which has rapidly become the predominant variant spreading in the U.S. — is much more transmissible than previous strains.
School districts have assembled return-to-school plans designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 in classrooms but cannot require masks under a new state law.