By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
With the goal of keeping students in their classrooms, Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison is recommending that masks be mandated in all local schools.
“The burden on schools has not at all lessened from last year,” Robison said during a noon video press conference attended by school, county, public health officials and media.
As of today, Wood County has moved into the “high” transmission rate category, with 113.14 COVID cases per 100,000 residents.
To keep kids in school and reduce the spread of COVID in Wood County, school districts and communities need to pull out those masks and commit to wearing them, Robison said.
“COVID has shown itself to be an elusive enemy” – especially the Delta variant which was confirmed to be in Wood County last week, the health commissioner said.
Robison compared getting through COVID like taking a road trip during a winter storm. To keep safe, motorists wear seat belts, use their flashing hazard lights, make sure they have good tire treads, and drive on roads treated for the weather.
“We are now in the snowstorm,” he said. One safety measure is not enough to ensure a safe trip.
Robison is also recommending that governmental entities like the City of Bowling Green and Wood County return to mandating masks.
“The more broadly we apply prevention measures” the greater the chances are for keeping kids in school. “We need to think about this as a community. That will have cascading benefits for our students.”
“We can’t ask them to be the only entities in our environment that is taking this on,” he said of schools. “This is a chance for us as individuals and a community to prevent the spread.”
The outcomes will suffer “if we are fractured and not supporting each other,” Robison said.
As of last week, school districts in Wood County had agreed on a unified approach of mandating masks on buses, but making them optional in classrooms. Robison is recommending they do more.
Students wearing masks in the classroom will not have to quarantine if they are exposed to COVID at school, Robison explained.
“You give them the best opportunity to remain in the classroom,” he said.
The Delta variant – with its greater risks for spreading, infecting the young, and causing severe illness – is a game changer. The restrictions that had been lifted need to be re-imposed, Robison said.
“It’s a changing enemy that is mutating,” he said. “Once it takes root, it quickly becomes the dominant variant.”
The best prevention is the COVID vaccine, which is available to those 12 and older.
“They are the No. 1 way to keep our kids safe,” he said.
The health department is also issuing the following guidelines for schools:
● Everyone wearing masks in schools—masked individuals who are exposed in the classroom may stay in school as long as they don’t develop symptoms.
● Maintaining as much distancing as possible—three or more feet in the classroom and on school transportation, and six or more feet in the lunchroom and in other venues where activities are related to additional risk of spread.
● Staying home when sick and testing for anyone who could have COVID.
● Identifying exposed individuals and staying home while at risk for becoming ill.
● Regularly washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, maximizing ventilation and cleaning and disinfecting.
“Keeping our kids in school depends on everyone continuing to work together—parents and guardians, students, school staff, and local public health—to create a safe and supportive environment for all,” Robinson said.
