I am a physician scientist and community organizer who has been extensively involved in educating, organizing, and advocating on COVID-19 since February. I have also ironically contracted COVID, am struggling 18 weeks after onset of symptoms, and face the terrifying long term unknowns of this disease. A colleague who had supposedly recovered from infection passed away suddenly only days ago.

The recommendations about reopening by physicians, scientists, and public health officials have remained largely stable over time. It is the politically motivated defiance of our advice on this that has unquestionably led to escalating infections and deaths in Texas.

First, we MUST meet the benchmark two-week average decline in new cases in our area before we should even consider opening our schools. It is clear at this juncture that the ONLY way to mitigate a tremendous loss of lives and untold morbidity in Texas will be lockdown. Once we have achieved this milestone, we MUST ensure that our County Health Departments are equipped to contact trace for the population prior to reopening schools. In Brazoria County, that is an estimated 350 new hires specifically for this purpose.

ONLY then, can we consider reopening that in any way approximates school in the pre-COVID era. And EVEN then, there will be substantial differences. To do this in any other way will incur tremendous mortality, morbidity, and LIABILITY.

In the meantime, it will be critical for school districts to understand that remote learning MUST be both synchronous and asynchronous and responsive to the needs of the students and families, including especially households unable to afford the technology to connect, households without an adult available for oversight, households with students with disabilities. Extracurricular activities outdoors while socially distanced and masked will become possible and should be supported and encouraged for all interested as soon as the conditions above are satisfied. Creative unstructured time to connect safely by video with classmates, friends, and teachers will be crucial to social and emotional development for children. With the guidance of child psychologists and tele-mental health specialists, COVID-19 infection risk can be balanced with the risks of purely online education.

We ask that the Brazoria County Health Department and Texas Department of State Health Services Public Health Region 6/5 exercise its authority to

REJECT THE REOPENING OF ALL BRAZORIA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS at this time.