The proliferation of COVID-19 cases across Luzerne County is causing multiple evolutionary changes in school planning at all levels of the region.
The number of new daily cases reported in the county surged to over 800 on Fridays and Saturdays, setting a new daily record on Sundays and reporting 989 new cases. This surge is reflected in weekly data for states aged 0-18. Last week, the state reported 724 new cases in Luzerne County of that age group, more than double the 303 reported a week ago.
Here are some answers from local educational institutions.
Luzan County Community College The media announced that it delayed the start of the spring semester “based on the increase in positive rates and the number of cases of COVID-19 in the region.” The start of the spring semester has moved from January 18th to January 31st. Wilkes-Barre Center and Late Start Section classes will be postponed from January 31st to February 14th. Until May 20th.
King’s College We also delayed the start of the spring semester and announced that classes will start on January 24th late last week.
Wilkes University President Greg Kant has sent a notice that the Spring Semester will temporarily move to online format. “All classes scheduled to start on Tuesday, January 18th will start remotely.” The plan is to return to face-to-face classes on January 31st. “Moving to the dormitory will be more flexible,” Kant wrote. The hall will open on January 16th. Return COVID-19 Move-in time including test. “
Students have the option of staying at home for 9 days of remote instruction, but residential students will be charged for the room and board during the virtual instruction period. The university also requires students and employees to be inspected before returning to campus, regardless of vaccination status. PCR nasal tests, saliva tests, or antigen / rapid tests are all acceptable.
Masks are still required at all indoor campus locations, regardless of vaccination. “Because of the infectivity of the Omicron variant, it is highly recommended to wear a KN95 or disposable surgical face mask instead of a cloth mask. If you need to wear a cloth mask, for best protection Multiple masks must be layered. Do not use neck gateles as they do not provide the required level of protection. “
Greater Nanti Cork Area School District Director Ron Grebera announced Saturday night that “the district will be fully virtualized this week due to COVID and staffing concerns.” Students follow their schedule by logging in to Google Classroom, attending classes, and competing for assignments. The district will resume face-to-face lessons on January 18, following Martin Luther King Jr.’s vacation.
Hanover Area School District Last week we announced that we would offer students the option to switch to remote live learning in January. Director Nathan Barrett held a community meeting via Zoom on Sunday night to confirm the details.
Barrett started by showing the number of new cases in each school over the last two weeks. Three of the four elementary schools were less than 10, Hanover Green was 10, and high school was 55. The state should close the school if it is 5%. He said that 14 days of the school population was positive, or 10% of the school population was positive, but because it is a school-level requirement, one school could be closed and another could remain open. He emphasized that he has sex.
The district has also begun mandating weekly testing of athletes, regular testing of unvaccinated staff, and continues to require masks and desk shields. Rapid antigen testing is available at the school district upon student request. The district then began offering a “positive case submission form” for parents to submit if the family had a positive test that the district should know about.
Regarding online options, Barrett said he would distribute lunch at Memorial Elementary School and High School every Wednesday from 11:00 am to noon for those who attend all periods and switch to virtual learning. In the school district, students who go online must stay online until the end of January. In the district, face-to-face students can switch to online format if quarantine is required, but students cannot switch from online to face-to-face until the end of the month.
Barrett pointed out that in the first week of January, all schools had full distance learning. This was because positive cases “passed through the roof” in all schools, and I was uncomfortable taking all students to school until more tests were available. He said additional tests helped him find 30 cases.
Wyoming Area School District Prior to the Christmas holidays, we announced that all classes were virtual from January 3rd to January 17th. The plan is to return to the face-to-face class on January 18th. At the time, Janet Serino was concerned that this move would turn out to be accurate, as family gatherings on vacation would lead to an increase in infectious diseases.
Contact Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or Twitter @ TLMarkGuydish
