Schools suffer brunt of surge

South Carolina is setting records for COVID-19 hospitalizations, and new cases are approaching the peak levels of last winter. Classes, schools and entire districts have gone virtual, leaving parents frustrated and teachers quitting weeks into the school year.

Since ending South Carolina’s state of emergency on June 7, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster has maintained that parents alone should decide if children wear masks in schools, even as the state’s new cases soared from 150 a day on average to more than 5,000.

Now teachers, students and parents are struggling with the fallout as more young people contract the delta variant, forcing nearly two dozen schools and two entire districts back to online learning within a month of returning in person.

State health and education officials say the statewide mask ban in schools took away one of their best tools to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Some lawmakers from both parties are pushing for local governments to make decisions on restrictions.