Dozens of schools in Fresno County area granted COVID-19 waivers to reopen campuses
More than two dozen elementary schools in the central San Joaquin Valley area have been granted COVID-19 waivers to reopen campuses, according to a list updated Tuesday by the California Department of Public Health.
The list includes seven schools in Fresno County, more than a dozen in Tulare County, more than half a dozen in Kings County, and three in Merced County.
The Fresno County schools include Clay Joint Elementary School District in Kingsburg, Fresno Christian School, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St. Anthony’s Catholic School, St. La Salle Catholic School, Kerman Christian, and Hume Lake Charter School.
It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday when students might return to those school campuses.
On Friday, Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said he expected some Fresno-area students could start returning to campuses in the near future.
“We are at a point where we can start reopening the elementary schools with these safe practices,” Vohra told reporters.
News of the waivers comes the same day that Fresno County appeared to be on the brink of qualifying for the state’s Tier 2 level of pandemic restrictions.
Fresno County on Tuesday remained on the most restrictive Tier 1.
Most California school campuses have been closed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.