‘COVID is not done with us.’ Outbreaks in 2 KY districts return schools to virtual class
Gov. Andy Beshear said Fleming and Boyd County school officials “are doing the right thing” in the face of locally increasing COVID-19 cases by returning significant numbers of students to virtual learning.
“They are doing the right thing,” Beshear said during a Thursday news conference. “They haven’t done anything wrong. They’re just unfortunately the school districts that show that COVID is not done with us. We have have to make sure we continue sacrificing a little bit longer so that our kids can get through school.”
After months of learning from home during the pandemic school shutdown, Kentucky districts have been returning to in-person learning at various points in 2020-2021 with nearly all students back this spring.
Statewide, COVID cases are decreasing. But this week, superintendents in Fleming and Boyd County schools told families that because of a local increase in COVID-19 cases they were returning all students at certain schools to virtual learning for a period of several days.
Fleming County Superintendent Brian Creasman told the Herald-Leader Friday morning that after being open for in person learning since Sept. 8, Flemingsburg Elementary School was now transitioning to virtual learning for 10 days.
“On Tuesday, when we made the decision to transition to virtual learning because we were averaging 2 to 3 new cases per day between students and teachers in two particular classrooms,” Creasman said.
Creasman told families in a letter that over the past several days, the number of COVID-19 cases at Flemingsburg Elementary School had steadily increased and he had consulted with the Fleming County Health Department. He moved Flemingsburg Elementary School to remote learning starting on Wednesday and expects students to resume in-person instruction on Monday, May 17th.
Creasman said while the decision “will put a lot of burden on students, teachers, staff, and families”...as the end of the academic year approaches “we can’t let our guard down.”
On May 5, Boyd Superintendent Bill Boblett told parents about an increase of COVID-19 cases at Boyd County middle and high schools with a large number of students being quarantined at those schools.
He returned Boyd County High School freshmen, sophomores, and juniors and all Boyle County Middle students to virtual instruction for Thursday and Friday. Seniors will return to virtual learning through May 14.
“Please continue to consider the next few weeks to be fluid as we see an increase of COVID-19 positive cases,” Boblett told parents.
He said that he was hoping the positive cases will go down by the end of next week. “We are scheduled to graduate on May 22. I want to do what I can in an effort for our seniors to be able to participate in the graduation ceremony,” Boblett said.
In Fayette County this week where in-person learning continues, Acting Superintendent Marlene Helm told families that with just weeks left in the school year, COVID-19 cases in the community are holding steady. The 7-day average of new cases in Fayette County was 37, she said.
After a recent uptick, positive COVID-19 cases among students and staff on Tuesday were down to 41 in the past week and the number of individuals placed into quarantine due to possible exposure was at a three-week low of 430, Helm said.
Beshear said he hoped that Pfizer would get authorization to vaccinate children 12 to 15 years of age by next week. Students 16 and over can currently be vaccinated.
