Just because businesses are re-opening without mandates, does not mean we are actually past the threat of the COVID-19 virus quite yet.
As of the end of June, data from the Wyoming Department of Health (WYDOH) shows that the state still has not achieved a majority vaccine rate and sits between 30-40 percent.
This means that even though the general feeling of the pandemic is slipping away, it still remains a real threat that needs to be considered in any decisions on public dealings. Especially when those public dealings involve cramming a bunch of students into one building.
Certain districts across the state are beginning to publish their plans for the fall of 2021, which is a good thing. However, not enough of these early semester plans are discussing the need for protective measures.
School districts should be aware that at this time, it is still necessary to implement anti-pandemic safety measures. While districts like Albany or Campbell do have contingencies that lean towards promoting student health, what is being done is not enough.
According to WYDOH and the national Center for Disease Control (CDC), the easing of COVID-19 restrictions or measures is far outpacing the actual rates of vaccination. That is to say, people are not yet vaccinated or protected enough for a full or even semi return to normal.
For schools, this should mean that more well-defined plans need to be crafted in order to keep kids safe. Especially during the fall and winter seasons, a time of the year where the CDC shows the highest chances of communicable disease spread.
Because of the still meaningful threat, I would argue for a few things to be more widely implemented if at all possible.
The first is the continued use of telecommuting to the classroom.
According to the CDC, the chances of communicable infection drop to nearly nothing when someone can stay home and avoid actively coming into presence with those diseases. This semester has shown that online and hybrid classes are possible at most grade levels, so it should be an option to try to make things as safe as possible.
The second thing on the list is a focus on proper pandemic measures like mask enforcement and proper social distancing.
Data from WYDOH showed that these measures work to the tune of limiting COVID-19 and other airborne viruses by nearly 30% from where they were in previous years. Keeping students healthy and safe is a primary duty of the school and if these simple practices are what keep them safe, then it should be instilled as much as possible.
This means schools being more aggressive in the way the floorplan so they can create more space or how they enforce or offer mask opportunities to students.
By limiting the chance to become infected or by making sure every student needs to at least have a mask or give proper space, the threat of the virus is diminished significantly.
This in turn will help keep students safe and learning like they should be.
We all want to be done with pandemic, but especially in Wyoming we cannot just step back into the old normal. We need to take the lessons of the pandemic and keep running with them until the virus is not a threat anymore.
