The University of Kansas will work alongside local government, health and education leaders to coordinate a reopening and response strategy for local schools, local health officials announced Monday.
Local education leaders will join the Unified Command team, which Douglas County used to lead a pandemic response, to devise a safe plan for school re-openings that minimizes the spread of the coronavirus. The UC structure brings together leaders of major organizations involved to collectively coordinate an effective response while allowing each organization to maintain their own jurisdictions.
Chancellor Douglas Girod will help lead the Education UC with Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health Director Dan Partridge, Lawrence Memorial Hospital CEO and President Russ Johnson, Lawrence Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Lewis and other local government officials.
The group’s objective is to identify and coordinate opening dates for schools, create a minimum set of reopening standards such as providing personal protective equipment, establishing testing capabilities and protocols, and developing plans and securing resources to effectively implement reopening standards.
Douglas County confirmed 20 new cases of the coronavirus over the weekend, bringing the total to over 600 cases, county health officials announced Monday.
Of the 608 total cases, 496 are inactive or past the infection period, according to the Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.
