Tuesday afternoon thousands of people tuned in for a press briefing by Gov. Tate Reeves to hear the decision regarding schools. For Marion County and Columbia school districts, it was determined to be full steam ahead.
One thing that will be new is all students and staff must wear masks the entire day. The governor issued a mandate requiring masks to be worn throughout the day while at school.
Students and staffs are not the only ones required to wear a mask. Reeves issued a statewide mandate for everyone to wear masks when out in public and in stores for the next two weeks. The goal is if people will start wearing masks everywhere they go, the progression of COVID-19 will slow down.
Columbia schools started back Thursday. Parents were given the option to either have their children attend in a traditional setting or participate in distance learning.
Columbia Academy is beginning with a half day for the elementary school on Thursday and the high school will begin with a half day on Friday.
Marion County schools will begin Monday. Like with Columbia schools, the parents were given the choice on how they wanted their children to take part in the learning process, whether it be traditional or virtual.
“This is the beginning of the conversation, not the end,” Reeves said in the briefing.
Reeves said virtual learning will be a vital part of the school year.
Regarding his decision on schools, Reeves said he has had people on the phone telling him it is too soon and not safe enough as well as people saying they need their children to go to school so the parents can go to work.
He discussed the dangers of letting the students go too long without a structured learning program and the irreparable damage it may create. He said he felt like taking the necessary precautions such as wearing masks, staggering class dismissal times and sanitizing the schools, makes it the time right for schools to begin.
The governor made no mention of any mandates for colleges. He said the concern of the virus spreading among college students was more from off-campus activities than on campus.
Not every county received such news. Eight counties--Bolivar, Coahoma, Forrest, George, Hinds, Panola, Sunflower and Washington--were advised the school year for grades seventh through 12th is being delayed due to the number of the coronavirus cases.
Discussing the mask mandate, Reeves said if people want college football and other activities to happen they need to learn to wear a mask.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said they are watching the numbers for a possible plateau. On Saturday the number of new cases was 1,134, then Sunday and Monday the numbers were much lower, 672 and 576 respectively. The amount of cases on Tuesday was up again to 1,074.
For Marion County as of Tuesday there were a total of 625 cases. Since Friday there has been two deaths attributed to the coronavirus.
