Texas public schools to complete weekly COVID-19 case report starting next week

HOUSTON - Starting next week, all public schools in Texas will have to complete a weekly COVID-19 case report to the Texas Education Agency and the Department of State Health Services.

Dr. James McDeavitt with Baylor College of Medicine believes this is a step in the right direction.

"We're sort of doing a great experiment to see what works and what doesn't," he told FOX 26. "The unfortunate thing is since this is a new problem, it's the only way we can do it because we don't have a wealth of data to draw upon."

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However, he believes the COVID-19 Public School Case Report will not help to prevent an outbreak.

"Because the data is not daily, it will probably result in more opening and closing decisions rather than a real attempt to do contact tracing," McDeavitt added.

McDeavitt says it can eventually help to identify what is and what is not working to contain the virus.

The form asks for all new COVID-19 cases in the previous week, whether each case involved a student, staff member, or other, and if the case was contracted on or off campus. It is basic but McDeavitt thinks the state cannot handle any more detail.

"The logistical challenges of trying to do something this complex to this scale is daunting, and the reality is, it just won't go like everyone wants it to," he said.

As hospitalizations begin to decline in Texas, this week Governor Greg Abbott signaled he may loosen restrictions.

With schools reopening, McDeavitt believes its too soon.

"There's nothing that has fundamentally changed about the virus in Texas. It's still every bit as infectious as it was. It has not mutated into a less virulent form and we are nowhere close to achieve herd immunity," he explained.

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"If you take your eye off the ball, if you don't pay attention to masking and social distancing, particularly with the Labor Day holiday coming up, that's the concern, then I think we can be right back where we were before if not worse," McDeavitt warned.

The TEA says the database will be available to the public by the end of the month.