COVID-19: Updates and Information

New ND Cases – July 14

55 confirmed: 15 in Williams County; 11 in Cass County; 7 in Burleigh County; 4 in Morton County; 3 in Grand Forks County; 3 in Mountrail County; 2 in Bottineau County; 1 in Cavalier County; 1 in Dunn County; 1 in Emmons County; 1 in Golden Valley County; 1 in McKenzie County; 1 in McLean County; 1 in Pembina County; 1 in Sioux County; 1 in Stutsman County; 1 in Walsh County—2.3% daily positive rate of testing.

Totals:

Tests Completed – 235,497 (+2,427

from Mon.) Individuals Tested – 125,033 (+1,155

from Mon.) Positive – 4,493 (+55 from Mon.) Hospitalized – 280 (+3 from Mon.) Currently Hospitalized – 42 (-1 from

Mon.) ***11 in the ICU Recovered – 3,685 (+32 from Mon.) Deaths – 88 (+1 from Mon.—Woman in her 80s from Cass County) With 720 active confirmed cases on Tuesday, the state recorded its highest number of active cases since the pandemic’s beginning. On Monday, the

numbers also reached a record-high for hospitalizations, with 43 individuals hospitalized.

K-12 Education Guidance

Governor Doug Burgum addressed the public at a mid-afternoon press conference on Tuesday, where he was expected to announce the state’s decision/ guidelines for K-12 education this fall. He was joined by State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler. Two weeks ago, Baesler said that individual school districts, boards and communities should shoulder the burden of deciding whether to reopen school facilities for in-person classes or continue using distance learning should rest upon the shoulders of “It is my opinion that as much of the decisionmaking authority needs to lie in the hands of our local school board members,” she said, “who are elected by their community members, in concert with the local public health units.”

He opened the K-12 segment of the briefing by extending his gratitude to everyone involved in education in North Dakota.

Burgum and Baesler both spoke about how the state’s K-12 Smart Restart Plan is focused on local control and local decision making. School boards and administration, in consultation with public health, staff, teachers, families and community, will have to make the decisions about how best to return to school in the fall—whether it’s all in-person instruction, all distance learning or a combination of both.

Burgum presented a slide showing the core principles upon which the state wrote its K-12 guidance:

•We have a responsibility to deliver a full year of education for all students in a manner that’s safe for everyone involved

•Districts will need to work closely with local public health units to respond to local conditions

•School boards will play a vital role as this unprecedented school year unfolds

Depending on local situations, Burgum and Baesler said, education will be different and subject to changing day by day.

With the K-12 Smart Restart, every school board must approve a 1) Health & Safety Plan and 2) an updated Distance Learning Plan.

•Districts are required to take into consideration a hybrid approach of in-person instruction and distance learning to best meet health and safety plans of all students and families

•Health and safety plans must be buildingspecific and developed in consultation with local public health units

•These plans will be published on the district’s website

Burgum emphasized that school boards will play a vital role in the reopening of school facilities in the fall, as the COVID-19 situation constantly changes in all communities. There are thousands of decisions that are going to have to be made, Burgum said, and the state is stepping back from that, instead offering a framework that districts can reference to make them themselves.