Local Health Expert Shares Tips On Keeping Children Healthy When Returning To School

Some of the larger Green Country school districts are heading back to the classroom Monday, with many others following this week. The return comes as COVID-19 cases are rising across the state.

Sand Springs, Owasso and Jenks students all go back on Monday while Tulsa, Union, Bixby and Sapulpa students head back throughout the week.

Tulsa pediatrician Dr. Scott Cyrus said he wants parents to remind their kids about keeping their masks on, frequently washing their hands, and physically distancing when possible. He encourages parents to consider getting their kids vaccinated as well if they haven’t already.

In the past month, there have been more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases reported every day across the state of Oklahoma.

“The rise of the omicron variant and the rise of children admissions in the hospital is obviously causing a lot of problems with our children so being safe in the school is paramount,” Cyrus said.

Cyrus told News On 6 that the omicron variant can spread to children just as easily, if not more so, as any of the other variants. He said this means kids need to be extra careful in the coming weeks.

“What we are seeing is a different shift in how many children are being admitted,” Cyrus said. “It’s reported up to 50% more of the admissions are children and it’s definitely affecting our children, we need to take a multifactorial approach to this.”

Many districts say the best way to keep up with any changing information and protocols regarding COVID-19 and your kids is on the district’s Facebook page or the school's website.