COVID-19 In Pittsburgh: Pine Richland Students Concerned Over Potential Coronavirus Spike
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- As schools grapple with the challenge of welcoming back students for five days a week, students in one district say it's already causing problems.
Some students at Pine Richland fear a possible outbreak after some grade levels were given the option for all in-person learning this past week. For fear of any punishment, a Pine Richland senior spoke with us about their concerns anonymously.
"With all the people coming back, it really is impossible to have the correct procedures and precautions in place," the student said.
This past week, the district offered seniors and Eden Hall Upper Elementary School students the chance to go back to in-person learning all five days. This senior said their class is about 400 students and the majority went back.
"I know a lot of people who's parents are forcing them to go back," the student said.
In addition, there are underclassmen in the school as part of the hybrid system still.
The district said on its website it is taking necessary precautions including plans to make the six-foot teacher zone of physical distancing a priority. The district realizes that there will be times where six feet between students is not possible. The CDC started this past week with universal mask-wearing students should try to maintain at least three feet of distance in a classroom setting.
"The hallways are always very congested. No matter how hard you try. You really can't take the right precautions," the student said.
Online Pine Richland says as more students come back, there may need to be an increased need for quarantine.
"I know multiple people personally who have been sent home for quarantine, and it appears there's going to be a massive outbreak," the student told KDKA.
According to the district online records, there have been 24 COVID-19 cases this month. 19 are students. That's down from February where 38 people had the virus and 30 were students.
This senior fears the end of the year activities could be in jeopardy.
"My personal worry is that all the stuff that I'm excited to be apart of, they're going to be shut down," they said.
When asked if there are any active outbreaks or possible extracurricular activities being sidelined, the district says they don't comment on student health matters.
