Kenosha County health officer 'strongly recommending' schools in county go virtual during holiday season

KENOSHA COUNTY (CBS 58) -- The Kenosha County health officer is "strongly recommending" that all schools within the county, including colleges and universities, switch to all virtual from Nov. 23 to Jan. 4. 

Dr. Jen Freiheit says the goal is to keep students, school staff and families as safe as possible as the holiday seasons approach. 

"This recommendation to the schools was not based upon them having outbreaks or to be punitive, it was really an effort, that what can we do in Kenosha County to be proactive," she said. 

She says moving to virtual learning during the holiday season allows for a decrease in community gathering and movement over the period of six weeks, which is three COVID-19 incubation periods. 

The recommendation -- that is not a binding order -- includes sports and other extracurricular activities. 

In response, Kenosha Unified School District sent a statement saying in part, "While KUSD understands the premise of the health department’s recommendation, we plan to uphold our Return 2020 plan. This allows us to continue handling each building’s impact on a case-by-case basis as it relates to our outlined thresholds."

The statement goes on to say, "We will continue with the Return 2020 plan so our students may continue learning virtually or in person in an environment we have worked to make safe with procedures in place that allow us to adjust learning models when necessary on a case-by-case basis. While not perfect, we believe it has a far less negative impact on our students and their families than forcing all to become virtual learners for six weeks."