St. Mary schools assess new COVID guidelines

The St. Mary Parish school system is assessing whether changes will be needed to be in line with new guidance from the Governor’s Office on COVID-19 mitigation, Superintendent Dr. Teresa Bagwell said.
The policy adopted July 8 by the School Board sounds much like Gov. John Bel Edwards’ amended emergency proclamation, announced Friday: Masks will be strongly recommended but not required for students and employees when the public school year begins Aug. 6.
Masks will still be required on school buses, which are covered under a separate federal mandate covering public transportation.
Edwards issued the new guidance as public health officials warned of rising COVID infection rates, low vaccination rates and the rise of the more easily spread Delta variant, which now accounts for eight of every 10 new Louisiana COVID test positives.
As of Friday, Louisiana had the highest per capita rate of COVID spread in the country.
St. Mary’s rate of COVID test positivity and its incidence rate, a seven-day average of cases per 100,000 residents, exceed the rates for the state as a whole.
About 40% of Louisiana’s population is vaccinated. The latest figures from the Louisiana Office of Public Health say St. Mary’s vaccination rate is moving slowly upward, reaching 30.1% after a weeks-long plateau.
Vaccination rates remain just below 30% in nearby St. Martin, Iberia and Terrebonne parishes, according to the Office of Public Health.
Assumption’s rate is slightly higher at 30.7%.
Public Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter warned Friday that the Delta variant can cause the viral load, the amount of virus present in the body, to reach levels up to 1,000 times that of earlier COVID variants. That may explain why the disease spreads more easily and why children seem more vulnerable to Delta, Kanter said.
He and Edwards urged to people to get vaccinated to help protect youngsters. No emergency use authorization has been granted by federal authorities for children under 12.
In an email Monday, Bagwell said state Superintendent Cade Brumley has left the mask decision with local districts “and we work with Region III OPH to do so.
“I did email district office staff and school principals [Sunday] to echo the governor’s sentiments that masks should be worn in cases wherein 6 feet of distancing cannot be maintained.
“Our school year begins on August 6th, and based on experience, I anticipate that more information will be provided to school systems to guide any potential changes in the board’s current recommendation for wearing masks.”
Under the governor’s amended proclamation, heads of state government agencies will be authorized to enact masking procedures and mandates indoors when social distancing is not possible.
Executive branch agencies began requiring masks indoors at state buildings when distancing is not possible, for both employees and visitors.
In addition, appointing authorities are directed to review their current operations to accommodate employees in a way that reduces unnecessary contact to avoid the spread of COVID in the workplace.
Statewide, hospitalizations for COVID treatment were up sharply again over the weekend, reaching 1,221, up from 1,008 Friday.
The number of patients on ventilators was at 113 Monday.