EDUCATION
Loose restrictions on bars, masks make it harder to open schools, SCS head says
Laura Testino
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Shelby County Schools remains the only district in the county and the state to keep its doors closed to students since the coronavirus was first reported in Tennessee in March. They'll remain virtual through at least the start of February.
But more could have been done to help the district bring its students back to the building, Superintendent Joris Ray told the school board and county commissioners in a joint meeting Tuesday.
"We're very ready to return to in-person (learning), as soon as its safe," Ray said. The joint meeting, focused on student learning, included questions on reopening plans from Commissioners Brandon Morrison and Eddie Jones. In the few days since SCS delayed its phased return to February from January, Ray noted that the county has reported the highest daily case counts of the pandemic.
"It's something that brings us pause," he said of the COVID-19 data. "And when we're trying to figure out ways to keep our students safe, in good faith, I feel that many things could have been done to help the schools."
Although Shelby County has a mask mandate, there is no statewide mask mandate. Despite repeated calls from
local leadership and
others,
Gov. Bill Lee has doubled down on his stance of masking as a local choice or personal choice where local authorities have not implemented one. Most counties surrounding Shelby County either have not had a mask mandate or have had inconsistent implementation throughout the pandemic. People in those counties still came into Shelby County, Ray said, potentially bringing the virus.
"When you prioritize bars, and open bars and not prioritize schools, that contributes to the community spread," Ray said.
Ray's stance is in line with that of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In November, as New York City was weighing school closures with other business restrictions, Fauci acknowledged that there was no "one size fits all" pandemic response, but that the focus should be on keeping kids in school or opening schools.
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"You know, we say it -- not being facetiously, as a sound bite or anything -- but, you know, close the bars and keep the schools open is what we really say,"
he told ABC News.
Earlier in the fall, the Shelby County Health Department began releasing preliminary data for the first time showing that cases were associated with bars,
though the early data did not show any direct clusters. But in other cities, including Nashville, bars have played no small role in spreading the virus. And Shelby County has
focused recent restrictions on in-person bars and restaurants in attempts to curb spread.
Though some local health experts have said transmission within schools is not as great as once feared,
they have also said that reopening schools should be a community priority, acknowledging that poor community conditions of the virus are a hindrance.
While public schools in municipal districts have opened, Ray acknowledged that COVID-19 has proven to disparately affect people of color most; SCS, unlike most municipal schools, has a majority population of students of color.
"When the virus is attacking, at a higher rate,
Black and brown children, we have to take the necessary steps we needed to take to keep our students safe. When our students stay in multi-generational homes, and no bigger than 900-square-feet, we've got to take that into consideration," he said, later noting that SCS students are more likely than others to share homes with older family members at higher risk of severe symptoms.
All of these are reasons for "tough decisions," he said, which also included suspending contact sports, the activity that has proven to be a major vehicle for COVID-19 cases among school-age children.
Ray pointed to comments from state legislators and Gov. Lee about wanting students to return in-person.
"It's kind of hard to say, 'We want students back in schools,' when the state Department of Education itself is not even open to the public," Ray said. "We've got to always think of our students and I submit to everyone's considerations: School is open (virtually). We're open all this week."
www.telegraph.co.uk
i say cut them of main land Europe .. they like to be independent .. take care . Don’t let the door hit you on the way out . 
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