AN OPEN LETTER TO

OUR BOE
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION…

As the debate on whether to open schools continues in our community, we all agree our children
should be in school. The only real debate is when and how to accomplish that important goal so that
we keep our students, our teachers and staff, and in fact all in our community safe and healthy.

One of many things I learned through the Contact Tracer course from Hopkins and from the daily
press briefings by Governor Cuomo and the briefings by Dr. Fauci and other public health experts is
the critical importance of following the numbers, the science, and the doctors.

While we have in MD and in Frederick seen a flattening of the curve and a decreasing in the rate of
infection because of good leadership and our community’s willingness to sacrifice so much in so many
ways. Sadly though, as we have begun reopening, and in particular our re-opening of our bars and
restaurants back to indoor dining, the number of daily new cases is on the rise since the beginning of
July for both the state and Frederick County.

Given the fact that on July 9th Frederick County had a 3.9% rate of average daily new cases per
100,000 and as of yesterday, July 23rd that percentage INCREASED to 9.1% we know that the virus
is spreading more, not flattening, never mind decreasing (NYT 7/24 2 week rolling average.)

Of additional concern is the length of time that has increased from 1- 2 days to get test results back,
to 8 days or more. We can not trace and contact and isolate to contain the spread of the virus unless
results can be had in under 48 hours. Much of the point of testing is ultimately to contain the virus and
to prevent the spread. Opening a school before we have decreased the rate of infection to 5% or
more for at least 14 days AND without a point of contact test or tests that can be read in 48 hours or
less essentially creates a super speeder event.

When we contact trace, we contact the person who tested positive and then try to help them
remember ALL of the people they came into contact with over the past 2 days, and then we contact
ALL of them to notify them and to ask them to also self-quarantine for 14 days. This is the ONLY way
at this juncture to contain the spread of the disease. Every day that passes exponentially increases
the number of people any of us come into contact with and this highly contagious disease begins to
spread like wildfire because we can not contain it in time.

While there are a multitude of criteria and safety protocols that I am sure FCPS is and has been
evaluating, it is wise to be prudent and open cautiously like surrounding counties are doing. We
should open 100% virtually, continue to drive the numbers down to under 5% for a sustained 14 day
period of time, see what the numbers say about the rate of infection,and then proceed to a hybrid
model, Then let’s evaluate again where the number lead us over a sustained period of time before we
consider opening any further.

As my grandmother would say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. The stakes are very
high when we are talking suffering and life and death. We need to make sure we get this right!