Are we ready for the covid spike that comes with the first days of school?

Two months ago, schools were celebrating graduations and summer sendoffs, the covid virus was in retreat. It was a great feeling — a breath of fresh air after the stifling and constant presence of the pandemic. Unfortunately, it’s back and it feels like we’re willing to ignore the issue in the hopes that it’ll go away.

Look, we realize that many of you already have formed a hard opinion on the pandemic. You either realize it’s happening and are willing to take precautions or have decided you’re not going to acknowledge the issue like it’s someone else’s problem.

The bad news: Infection and hospitalizations are on the rise again. The good news: The BA.5 variant appears to be less deadly that others and is causing less ICU hospitalizations than previous waves. It was expected that we’d see another covid wave again, so it’s no surprise. It is unfortunate, however, that we seem to be blatantly, even willfully, turning a blind eye.

Let’s flash back to the end of last school year and take a look at what’s different now.

For the week ending May 25, the region posted 119 new cases. Five patients combined were in Rome’s two hospitals being treated for the virus. Some school systems had suspended regular reports to parents as the numbers were so low.

We were in a good place then, and it felt good to be there but now we have to look at where we are now. The highly contagious BA.5 variant began to spread, at speed in recent weeks.

It’s come up as a topic in city and county government meetings, public safety and business conferences — but, strangely, not so much in our school systems. If you’re a parent you’ve experienced the petri dish that is any school — and the resulting colds, flu or others. It’s a common-sense step to expect that our schools should take some measure of precaution. So far we’re not hearing that.

In our community there are 41 virus patients in Rome’s hospitals right now, some on ventilators and in ICU. That’s up pretty drastically from last month where it averaged around 10.

The impetus for those hospitalizations are some 622 new cases reported in our five counties for the week ending July 20. We’re not seeing the numbers that we’ve seen during previous peaks, yet, but it’s concerning and we should be paying attention.

We’re in a much different place compared to May. That’s key as our students and teachers come back to school.

And even with vaccinations now available for our younger residents, participation is low. Through Wednesday, the state’s vaccination dashboard shows these totals for Floyd County residents who have received at least one dose of vaccine: Ages 5 through 9: 12.6%.

Ages 10 through 14: 26.2%.

Ages 15 through 19: 39%. Overall population: 52% with much of that being from those 55 and older.

So as classes resume, we’re looking at the potential of a wildfire-like threat from the most contagious variant yet of covid. Topping that we live in a community and region with a high risk of spread — and the most effective thing we have to at least ease the health effects from the virus is getting minimal use.

We understand school administrators and board members are wary of the barrage of calls they get from a vocal group of folks that want to deny that the pandemic happened or is happening.

We’re not just putting the brunt of that responsibility on the school system — they have enough on their hands already — parents and guardians need to be paying attention and making an appropriate response. They should always have the first and last word concerning the care of their child.

But school system administrators need to be in contact with public health officials seeking advice on how to avoid what could be a dangerous start to the school year. Like any other threat to our students, our school systems need to take a proactive stance. They likewise need to share those details with parents and students before even the first open house is held prior to that first bell.

We’re beginning our third school year with covid. We’ve learned what precautions work and how to minimize the threat. Those “lesson plans” need to be a priority starting now.

Thank you for reading.