BOISE, Idaho — As a new school year begins this month, in-person classes return as the norm in Idaho after a year that had children taking classes online either entirely or as part of a "hybrid" plan intended to increase physical distancing and minimize the spread of COVID-19.
The COVID pandemic is still very much an issue, however -- in fact case numbers have been rising sharply since late July, after several months of decline. Now many Idaho school districts are recommending that students, staff and visitors wear facemasks in school buildings. One, the Boise School District, will require it, but some health experts say, some school districts are ignoring the data.
On Wednesday, St. Luke's held a media briefing ahead of students returning to the classroom.
"We seem to be at a rather crucial point here in this pandemic," said St. Luke's Children's System Medical Director, Dr. Kenny Bramwell.
Right now, the healthcare system is seeing more patients being admitted to the hospital. While they're not yet in that crisis point that we saw last winter, Bramwell said, we are headed in that direction.
"We seem to have a perfect storm if you're a virus of lots of people who have not been exposed to this virus before and low vaccination rates here in Idaho," Bramwell said. "The biggest concern that I think is facing us as we get back to school is people are tired and they'd like to move on and they stopped wearing masks. I think that is an ill-advised, but very prevalent, strategy right now."
He adds he's concerned that while some school districts are talking about masks, others are ignoring the data. When it comes to whether parents should send kids back to school in person as opposed to using a remote option, Bramwell cited the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics, who now emphasize the importance of in-person schooling -- and urge masking for all kids at school, regardless of vaccination status.
"The challenge we have is that we have people and even leaders who have confused personal freedom with public health, and they feel that wearing a mask is an infringement on their rights. That's unfortunately great news for the virus and bad news for our collective health," Bramwell said.
Back in November and December, St. Luke's saw 16 to 18 children with COVID being admitted to the hospital. Since then, they've seen four to six cases each month, and that has not yet changed.
"Based on the first week of August, we may be headed into a new phase," Bramwell said.
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