Masking, vaccines best defenses as COVID cases climb

Transparency by Crane, district One to be applauded

On Monday, Aug. 2, we had 6 new positive COVID-19 cases in Yuma County. On Saturday, Aug. 7, we had 82 new cases.

Looking back at the week of Aug. 2-8 in its entirety, there were 239 new cases in Yuma County.

And so far, we’re at 71 new cases on Aug. 9 and 10. We were fortunate there for a while, as our new case count stayed in the single digits.

But now, as the Delta variant spreads and students return to classrooms, we’re seeing those new case numbers increase too.

Check out these numbers for Yuma School District One:

• Week of July 26-Aug. 1 – 2 confirmed cases

• Week of Aug. 2-8 – 22 confirmed cases

• Week of Aug. 9-15 – 8 confirmed cases so far – and readers, as we type this, it’s only Aug. 10.

And over at the Crane School District:

• Week of July 25-31 – 9 confirmed cases

• Week of Aug. 1-7 – 27 confirmed cases

• Week of Aug. 8-14 – so far, 3 confirmed cases.

Keep in mind – these time frames and statistics are provided by the schools. And the schools aren’t the only contributing factor to the increased case counts in Yuma County – but they are a factor.

We applaud the schools for releasing this information online, giving parents an idea of what’s happening in their schools. It’s something each of the districts in Yuma County should do, if they aren’t already, because it allows parents access to information to make informed decisions for their children.

The best protection is getting the vaccination, but that only applies to parents of children 12 and older.

For the rest of our student population, the best defense is wearing a mask at school.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that everyone over the age of 2 wear face masks that cover the nose and mouth, which “is a simple, proven tool to protect students unable to get the vaccine yet or who have chosen not to get it,” the AAP notes.

We still strongly disagree with Gov. Doug Ducey’s decision to hamstring Arizona’s school districts on the topic of masking. The districts should be able to look at the new case data and decide if there is a need for campus-wide masking or not. We don’t want to see kids in masks, but if cases continue to escalate, we don’t want to see them sick or in the hospital either.

Politicians should not be the driving force as to whether or not a school district adopts masks. That driving force should be local school districts and health departments, guided by scientific data from within their community.

In the meantime, parents – do your research. Pay attention to your child’s school and the data, and make your decisions accordingly. And really, that applies to everyone in Yuma County, not just students.

We know in our community, COVID cases are rising. We want to keep our community safe – and masks and vaccines are necessary to do so. Unsigned editorials represent the viewpoint of this newspaper rather than an individual. Columns and letters to the editor represent the viewpoints of the persons writing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the Yuma Sun.