According to Louisville Municipal School District Superintendent, David Luke, all grade levels at all campuses within the district have been placed under a mask requirement, for all indoor activities and on buses.
The requirement will run until Tuesday, September 14, when the Board of Trustees next meets. In the meantime, the District will be evaluating the situation on campuses and in the community to decide what steps need to be taken next.
The masks requirement affects staff, students and visitors to the schools.
In addition, this past Monday, August 16, grades 7-12 at Nanih Waiya began a virtual format which is scheduled to run through Friday, August 26, with hopes for a return to traditional classes on Monday, August 30. Luke stated that three to five positive cases is considered an outbreak, and more extreme measures must be taken to deal with the situation, which is what took place at Nanih Waiya.
Luke added that masks are another tool to try and keep kids in a school settings; if students remain at least three feet apart, and wear masks they do not need to be quarantined for close contact.
Quarantines present a major problem, because even though a student may not test positive he must be quarantined due to close contact, and even one positive case can affect many people.
On a more positive note, Luke stated that enrollment seems to be holding steady, although the final numbers have not yet come in. There is much anticipation as schools get ready for the fall sports seasons.
COVID in county
County’s total positive COVID-19 cases stood at 2556 as of Tuesday, up 95 from last week’s total of 2461, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.
The county’s total death toll from the virus increased to 86 as of Tuesday’s COVID report. One death was reported August 17.
State and national leaders have attributed the rise in COVID-19 case numbers nationwide to the delta variant of the disease. The state totals from August 17 had 67 new deaths and 3,323 new cases.
Vaccination Rate
As of Monday, 35% of Winston County’s population is fully vaccinated, according to MSDH, and 41% have received one of the 12,094 total doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered here.
“Vaccination is very effective at preventing COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death,” the agency stated. “Vaccination benefits you even if you have already had COVID-19. Most COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are now among unvaccinated Mississippians.”
State Fire Marshal and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney is encouraging all first responders, including firefighters and Emergency Medical Service personnel, to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“First responders are on the front line daily, protecting the public and need to be protected from the COVID-19 virus and not become super spreaders,” said Chaney. “There are more than 16,000 first responders in the state including firefighters and EMS. It is my sincere hope that all first responders answer this call to get vaccinated which in turn will help all of us fulfill our mission to protect lives and property in the state.”
Vaccinations are free to all Mississippians aged 12 and older, and are being administered locally at all clinics, hospital and Walgreens. Homebound people can get help with COVID-19 vaccination by sending e-mail to COVIDHomebound@msdh.ms.gov.
