Covid-19 cases and concerns are on the rise

America has seen the highs and lows of Covid-19 and even a period of a major decline, but now cases are starting to rise, and that’s a concern for some school districts have had to alter different areas of the school when the pandemic was at its peak.

Now, a new covid-19 variant ba.2.86, has surfaced causing it to rapidly increase. With school back in session, school administrators are looking at doing all they can to keep students safe.

“We always want to make sure that we’re supporting safe and healthy schools. A part of that is making sure that we have our schools clean and that if students are feeling sick, they’re staying home or also that they’re testing for Covid if they have Covid symptoms. So we’ve always followed our guidance based on the CDC, based on the Minnesota Department of Health, and also with Saint Louis County. We follow those recommendations,” said John Magas, Duluth Public Schools Superintendent.

By helping to keep kids safe in the classrooms, Mages shared that administrators and staffers are following some of the guidelines they did when Covid-19 was a big concern.

“We’re sticking with the CDC guidelines and those change from time to time depending on how things develop. So it’s important for us to stay abreast of the current situation. We work really closely with the Saint Louis County Department of Health to monitor the rates. I work really closely with health officials throughout the state, but also within our school district, just to focus on what are the best practices right now.”

At this moment, the district reported that Covid-19 cases in the schools are low, but schools have reported student absences due to covid like symptoms. They are also encouraging people to look at the available new vaccines.