Cases on rise as school year nears

By Donnie A. Lucas

The number of current positive COVID-19 cases more than doubled during the last week, according to information reported by the Shackelford County Health Clinic.

The local clinic said that 40 tests were administered from Aug. 2 through Aug. 9, with 12 positive results. The facility previously reported 25 tests given with eight positive results for July 19-30, for a total of 65 tests and 20 positives during the three-week period.

The local ResourceCare Clinic reported a total of eight tests with no positive results for the last two weeks in July. No information was available for the last week at press time.

Some of the recent positive cases were children and young adults. Last week, the hospital clinic said that none of the patients who tested positive had been vaccinated.

Both local clinics have immunization vaccines available.

Anyone needing to be tested must call first and receive a specific time to receive the test.

With the start of the school year next Wednesday, almost 500 local youth and about 85 school employees will return to the district’s two campuses.

The district will follow the updated guidelines issued by the Texas Education Agency on Aug. 5.

The district is required to report confirmed cases to the local and state health departments.

Any student or employee who tests positive must stay at home for 10 days from the onset of symptoms and must be fever free for at least 24 hours without use of fever suppressing medications.

The district can not require students or staff to wear masks due to a administrative order by the governor’s office for all entities that receive state funding.

Private businesses can require that patrons wear a mask.

While students or staff who had close contact with a person who tests positive, the school will not conduct contact tracing. Individuals who have been vaccinated are not considered to have close contact.

The school must notify parents if it is determined that others were subject to close contact, and parents can choose to keep an exposed student at home.

The stay-at-home period for students due to close contact is 10 days without a COVID-19 test, or a student may return after a negative result from a PCR acute test.

The University Interscholastic League also issued guidelines this week concerning the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools must notify local and state agencies of any positive cases, plus notify any opposing schools if exposure of opponents was possible.

The UIL did not override the governor’s order prohibiting the mandatory wearing of masks.

The UIL is also not currently limiting capacity for spectators at UIL events, but schools can chose to mutually make such limitations.

Even if the local district does not choose to limit attendance, visiting schools must mutually agree on home and visiting fans limitations. Such limitations may also be set by district executive committees for district contests.

AISD superintendent Jonathan Scott said that such limitations would be a school board decision.