School systems have no current plans to change operations because of omicron

With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases because of the omicron variant, public school systems across the county are having to consider all their options to help keep their students and employees safe.

However, local school systems are saying that they have no plans at this time, as students prepared to return to classes on Tuesday following the holiday break, to change operations in response to the uptick in cases.

“Right now, we don’t have any plans in place,” said Etowah County Schools Superintendent Dr. Alan Cosby, “We’re continuing some of the mitigation measures in place, but there’s no change with in-person learning and other things at this time.”

Cosby said students and faculty are still encouraged to wear face masks, as it is a “personal decision.” The system also is looking into a “variety of things” that they were doing previously.

Attalla City Schools Superintendent Jeff Colegrove echoed those comments, saying his system will continue to follow advice from the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on what to do for its schools.

“We will still encourage social distancing, good hygiene and handwashing,” he said, “We will continue to be optional (on masks) at this point and we will watch it day by day.”

Gadsden City Schools Superintendent Tony Reddick said schools in his system plan to continue the cleaning regimens they have had in place since the beginning of the pandemic.

“I was just talking to a principal and her cleaning staff yesterday, and she is still asking that desks and everything be wiped down daily,” he said.

Reddick said that before the holiday break, the system had made the decision to slightly ease restrictions and make masks optional because of a sharp decrease in cases.

“We had a 0.2% infection rate by the time we left for the holiday break,” he said. “We were averaging about one case a week, because some weeks we would have none and others we would have about three.”

However, with the spread of the omicron variant, that decision could be reversed, if warranted, as soon as Tuesday.

“Once our school nurses take record of how many cases are within our schools, we’ll know more about what to do,” Reddick said. “We expect an increase in cases, but a solid decision cannot be made until after the students return to school and we know more.”

Cosby and Colegrove said they are continuing to make face masks optional within the schools, but would consider their options if the situation worsens.

“Obviously, we would have to consider a mask mandate if that’s what the ADPH and the CDC recommend,” Colegrove said. “We’ll have to adapt and learn as we go just like we’ve been doing for the past year and a half.”

Cosby said, “We’ll just have to look at various things, and I’m consulting with health professionals about the situation, so it’s hard to say what the decision will be."

Reddick said if the situation should worsen, his system will start to look into other methods of keeping the spread down, including “alternate” methods of learning such as virtual school.

“We don’t want to ever go back to what was going on in March 2020,” he said. “So we’re going to have to work hard to encourage students and adults to make the best decisions possible.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: School systems have no plans to change operations because of omicron