OMAHA - Safely opening schools in Nebraska cities with elevated COVID-19 levels will depend heavily on lowering viral transmission rates, local health experts say. Nebraska as a whole, and the Omaha and Lincoln areas specifically, have seen recent upticks in COVID-19 cases.

Many schools already plan to require masks and keep kids apart as much as possible. Officials with the Omaha Public Schools, for instance, plan to open with a 3-2 schedule that will have students attending three days a week one week and two days the next. The schedule will essentially cut in half the number of students in buildings at a given time and provide added space for social distancing.

When the Nebraska Department of Education released draft guidance on reopening schools last week, it included a color-coded scale of risk levels based on local infection rates, hospital capacity and other factors intended to guide shutdown decisions and health protocols.

In general, Nebraska school districts continue to review their options as more information becomes available, even as they get down to the wire for opening day.

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