By DEMIE JOHNSON
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Indiana is loosening its quarantine rules for schools, and some parents are concerned.
Gov. Eric Holcomb issued a new executive order that keeps districts with mask mandates from having to quarantine.
It says schools and day cares that have mask requirements do not have to quarantine students, teachers and staff who are close contacts and aren’t showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Parent Courtney Short isn’t sold on the idea.
“I don’t want my kids to catch it,” Short said. “Like, kids seem to be getting it more and more and my kids aren’t even old enough to get the vaccine yet, they’re still too young.”
However, Holcomb says keeping kids in classrooms continues to be a priority for the state, and it’s up to all Hoosiers to help.
Holcomb
“We can all stay safe if you get vaccinated, and that truly is my appeal is to get vaccinated,” Holcomb said. “This is what is interfering with our supply chains. This is what’s holding parts of our economy back. This is what’s pulling our kids out of school and while we have 3.1 million some who are vaccinated, the balance leaves a lot to spread.”
The order also says schools still have to contact trace by notifying their local health department as well as parents, teachers and staff who were exposed to a positive case.
While Short says she doesn’t agree with the rule change, she hopes it pushes more schools to implement mask mandates, something her kids’ school doesn’t have.
“If they go to a party or something, they could be exposed to it there and may not report it to the school at all, so they could still be exposing other kids because like I said, they don’t have to wear masks at the school they go to,” Short said.
Some school districts are already adjusting to the new rules. Brownsburg Community School Corporation Superintendent Jim Snapp tweeted that the district is reaching out to students in quarantine who were masked when identified as a close contact to let them know they can return to school Thursday with masks.
Westfield Washington Schools sent a letter to families saying that district officials are going to stick to their current protocols while they review the governor’s order. According to the district’s website, there are 130 students currently quarantining due to COVID-19.
Nearly all counties in higher COVID risk levels
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Nearly all Indiana counties are now listed by the state health department in the higher risk categories for COVID-19 spread as severe illnesses are straining hospitals at levels months earlier than last winter’s surge.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said a new statewide executive order issued Wednesday won’t reinstate any mask mandates or business restrictions even as more schools face COVID-19 outbreaks and Indiana’s vaccination rate remains relatively low.
The coronavirus risk ratings updated weekly by the state health department put 13 of Indiana’s 92 counties in highest-risk red category, with 75 counties with the next-highest orange rating. Only four counties were in the lower-level yellow category.
Westfield Washington Schools to follow governor’s quarantine guidelines
Editor’s note: The following statement was released Thursday afternoon.
As you may be aware, yesterday, Governor Eric Holcomb issued an executive order that changes the requirements for quarantines of people considered to be close contacts to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Since our district has a mask mandate in place, starting [today], September 3, anyone identified as a close contact in a masked setting no longer has to quarantine as long as the close contact is symptom-free (click here for more information). We will be contacting families of students who are currently quarantined and eligible to return.
Though we will update our quarantine protocols, here is what does NOT change about our COVID-19 procedures:
- Masks are still mandatory in all district buildings.
- Families of students considered to be close contacts will still be notified.
- Close contacts still must quarantine in unmasked situations, i.e. lunch (click here for more information).
- Close contacts still must quarantine if showing COVID-19 symptoms: Cough, nasal congestion/runny nose, headache – particularly new, severe, especially with fever, sore throat, fatigue, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, fever of 100 degrees or over, diarrhea, chills, muscle or body aches, abdominal pain, vomiting, or new loss of taste or smell.
- You should still keep your child(ren) home if they are sick or showing symptoms of sickness, or if anyone in the household is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test.
It is important to remember that, with this new procedure, it is as important as ever that you vigilantly monitor your students for COVID-19 symptoms and keep them home if they show symptoms of any sickness.
Thank you for your patience as we work through these news changes. Let’s continue to work through this situation as a community and do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community.
Indiana Hospital Association: Vaccination is “most effective way” to ease hospital burdens
Editor’s note: The following statement from Indiana Hospital Association President Brian Tabor was released on Thursday.
We appreciate that the State of Indiana recognizes how strained Indiana hospitals currently are with the Delta variant wave. One region in Southern Indiana has already exceeded its highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations at any point during the pandemic.
According to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, only 115 intensive care unit (ICU) beds were available in the entire state of Kentucky earlier this week.
There is a massive storm cloud of this virus sweeping up through Indiana, and increasing our state’s vaccination rate is the most effective way to ease the burden on our courageous health care heroes and ensure a hospital bed for every Hoosier that needs one.