So, if the desired outcome is that students receive better educations, which means schools remain open to in-person learning, this is the way it has to be. West Virginia University made the same decision Tuesday, and it seems probable that other school districts will do the same. It’s only a question of when, and, as this virus repeatedly has shown, it’s better to act sooner than to wait until a problem is obvious and out of control.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As Kanawha County Schools and neighboring school district Putnam County Schools both changed their COVID-19 protocols to require masks in schools for all students and staff regardless of vaccination status, the chief health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department is applauding those decisions.
Dr. Sherri Young, who is also the executive director of the health department (KCHD), told MetroNews the best move for school systems across the state is to mask up and encourage vaccines for those eligible.
“I am very proud of the fact that they took the measures to protect kids by enforcing the mask mandate,” she said. “It can be a difficult decision, sometimes it can be unpopular. But when you take a look at the increase in COVID, especially in that age group in Kanawha County, this was clearly the right move.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Kanawha County Schools reported 49 COVID-19 cases in schools. The school system’s first day of class was on August 9. On Wednesday, the school system changed its original guideline of masks being optional for any staff and students in grades 6-12 to requiring masks starting Friday.
Putnam County Schools updated its guidance to requiring masks for all indoor activities and on buses beginning Friday for all students and employees regardless if they have been vaccinated or not. “This requirement will be in effect for 30 days and will be reviewed by health officials at the end of this 30-day period,” the school system said in a statement.
Not every school system is following Kanawha and Putnam counties. The school board for the state’s second largest school district, Cabell County Schools, voted on Thursday to maintain its current guidance of masks being optional.
Young said having mask requirements allows for students to stay in the classroom while making it as safe as possible for everyone involved in education.
“We don’t want to wait until we are in an area of high transmission to say ‘wear your mask.’ We want it to be a clear message from public health and the community that yes, we want to protect our kids and yes, they should be wearing masks in schools,” Young said.
Young told MetroNews she could not rule out the possibility of schools having to shut down due to the virus. She noted there is no ‘magic number’ for cases as to when she would recommend it.
“If we were to see a sharp rise in any one area or it appears that this is adversely affecting children at an alarming rate, we will raise the alarm and make the recommendation as the time comes,” Young said.
There has been a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in Kanawha County. Young said in the early summer months, KCHD would see 50 cases a day for a few weeks, then it changed to between 60 and 70 per day. On Wednesday, KCHD reported 110 cases in the past 24 hours.
Young said the good news is that more people have been getting the first and second doses of a vaccine than in recent weeks. According to the latest report from the state Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), 68.8% of those aged 12 and older in Kanawha County have been fully vaccinated.
Young said it’s important for parents of children in schools to have a discussion with trusted healthcare leaders about the vaccine and kids. She said that there is no doubt that the vaccine works because the numbers show it.
“When we look at the ultimate goal of keeping people healthy and keeping people alive. When we look at the rate of people across the country, millions of individuals that have the vaccine, that less than one percent of the people on ventilators and less than one percent of the people who have died have been vaccinated,” Young said.