The mask mandate was lifted about a month ago at the Eureka Springs Schools, and more people are foregoing masks in other indoor environments. While health officials are keeping a wary eye on the omicron variant, thus far it hasn’t been found in Arkansas and there is optimism about new cases of Covid-19 still being relatively low in Carroll County.
Carroll County had 40 new cases of Covid-19 the week ending Dec. 13, with 59 cases considered active, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. The county saw a high of 231 active cases in late August and early September. ADH estimates the county’s total cases at 4,483 with 78 deaths.
Schools have been faring well since lifting of the mask mandate.
“I try to be cautious when I’m talking about Covid, but so far, so good,” School District Supt. Bryan Pruitt said. “As of right now we have had one staff member who had Covid-19 who is already back, and we had two kids who got quarantined. And we had one staff member with the flu who is back. Other than that, we have been in great shape.”
Pruitt said they are still being very cautious because they know the omicron variant is on its way. The schools are maintaining social distancing of at least three feet.
“I have to commend our staff because they are keeping everything very clean using lots of hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes,” Pruitt said. “I’m glad we did go ahead and release the mask mandate and see how we can perform. I’m being cautiously optimistic that we can keep that up.”
Some staff and students are still wearing masks, and people are encouraged to do what makes them feel comfortable.
“I notice a lot of teachers on car duty are wearing masks,” Pruitt said. “The main reason is to stay warm.”
There have been several vaccination clinics held at the school, and more are anticipated. During the most recent clinic, 50 students received first shots and 20 received second shots. Dec. 17 is the last day of school before Christmas break. The students will come back Jan. 4, and the next vaccination clinic at the school with be Jan. 7. Vaccines have now been approved for ages 5 and up.
Pruitt said he is pleased that the new Covid rates are low in the area. There are 8,500 residents in the school district, with 600 students enrolled.
“A lot of our students work, so the potential is there,” Pruitt said. “Especially with Eureka Springs having so many tourists coming, I’m very proud of how well our students and parents have done staying safe. Our kids need social interaction. And back when this first started, a parent said, ‘I don’t need a computer. I need a teacher.’ I get it. I don’t care what kind of advanced technology is used for online learning, nothing replaces that teacher standing in front of students.”
The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement’s most recent report showed 28 public school districts have Covid-19 infection rates of 50 or more new known infections per 10,000 district residents over a 14-day period, up from 19 the previous week. ACHI said most, but not all, of the red-zone districts on ACHI’s map are in northern parts of the state.
“This is the largest number of red-zone districts we’ve seen in over two months,” ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson said. “This holiday season, as many of us go Christmas shopping in crowded stores and prepare to attend indoor gatherings with family and friends, we should keep in mind that the delta variant is all around us ― and possibly the omicron variant, as well. The best protection is to get vaccinated. Start if you haven’t; get boosted if you have.”
Citizen scientist Crystal Ursin said she is concerned, but not surprised, that Covid active cases in Arkansas Dec. 12 were the highest they have been in two months.
“We saw the same thing happen this past year during the holidays, families getting together with people coming from many different areas,” Ursin said. “Instead of keeping gatherings to under a handful of people, you’re seeing ten and twenty people get together at a time – too many people in an enclosed space for hours and hours.”
She is also very concerned that hospitalizations are on the rise, showing that not enough people are vaccinated, and that people are taking fewer safety precautions.
“Too many people don’t realize that just because you’re vaccinated doesn’t mean you can’t get Covid-19,” Ursin said. “It’s my belief that one thing that’s happening is that groups of unmasked, vaccinated people are gathering with unmasked and unvaccinated people for holiday gatherings, and there’s transmission. Just because you’re vaccinated doesn’t mean you can’t spread it; it just means it’s harder to spread. When you have so many people in close quarters and unmasked, you’re guaranteed to have transmission between people, whether you’re vaccinated or not.”
She said it appears that more and more people are going unmasked, whether they’re vaccinated or not. She thinks part of the problem is that people are getting the vaccine boosters and think that now they don’t have to wear masks.
“But, in reality, just because you get a booster doesn’t mean you’re immune to getting the virus,” she said. “You still need to wear masks indoors, especially if you’re going to be in close quarters with people. Also, more and more businesses are taking down their signs requiring masks, which makes people think it’s safe to go maskless inside the stores.”
Ursin has been closely following the research on Covid, including omicron variant.
“It seems as if scientists are still doing research, so as of right now we don’t know whether it’s more transmissible or less, more deadly or less, or even if the vaccines work on it,” Ursin said. “I’m definitely hoping that some good research happens very soon, and we get the answers to these questions. For me, I’m going to treat it as if it’s even worse than the delta variant. I figure being safer is better at this point, at least until we get some actual answers.”