Some public school divisions have delayed the start of in-person classes after the winter break. And others are trying to decide if winter sports competitions should be held.
The health director in the Roanoke area said she’s encouraging schools to focus on maintaining some level of in-person learning, not expanding extracurricular activities and sports.
Dr. Cynthia Morrow said evidence shows in-person learning can be done safely when precautions like masks, physical distancing and handwashing are implemented and enforced. "We should really be emphasizing getting children back into the classroom as safely and effectively as possible, rather than expanding extracurricular activities that could potentially increase the risk of transmission" Morrow said during a weekly call with reporters Tuesday.
Morrow said the health department has seen outbreaks and clusters around youth sports. The health district has one active outbreak in a youth travel sports team and is investigating two other suspected outbreaks. Morrow said there have been two school sports team outbreaks. “We have many other clusters of cases that may be associated with sports but because in those clusters, which we are not calling outbreaks, children are socializing outside of the team, we can’t say that it’s the team," she explained. "They could have socialized outside the team.”
Botetourt County Schools recently announced it would drop out of a regional agreement to hold athletic competitions only when certain community metrics are met. Some parents and students in other school divisions are also advocating for athletic competition.
Active Cases Down Dramatically in Roanoke Region
The number of active COVID-19 cases in the Roanoke area has dropped dramatically since the week before Christmas. Dr. Cynthia Morrow reported 719 active cases as of Tuesday morning in the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District. It was 2,929 on December 22nd.
The number of active outbreaks has remained steady over the past few weeks. Morrow reported 23 outbreaks Tuesday. They're mainly in long-term care and congregate living facilities.
Morrow also said she believes the number of vaccine doses administered is higher than what is reported on the health department’s dashboard. "The number vaccines in arms that are being reported is likely to be underreported for two reasons: One is just distribution delays but shots are getting into arms. And two: reporting delays."
The state dashboard showed 104,083 shots had been given as of Tuesday. But the state has received more than 481,550 doses. Governor Ralph Northam will address the delays during a news conference Wednesday at 2:00. Radio IQ will broadcast the event.
