Thread by @ashtonpittman

NEW: Days after classes began, COVID-19 outbreaks forced two Lamar County high schools to go all-virtual.

Now, the district is reversing its "mask optional" policy and reinstating a mask requirement. Other Mississippi districts are also reversing course.
mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

"The delta variant is different."

After the first SEVEN days of classes in August 2020, the whole Lamar County School District reported 10 cases of COVID-19 between students, staff and faculty.

Just TWO days after students returned this month? 79 cases. mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

In a letter to parents announcing it was going all-virtual, Oak Grove High said it had “taken every possible precaution including the continual contact tracing of every positive case” to prevent outbreaks.

Those precautions didn't include a mask mandate.mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

The Lamar County School District announced a mask mandate for schools that remain open, setting it to expire on Aug. 15—a day before Oak Grove High plans to resume in-person classes after going all-virtual due to school-wide outbreaks.
mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

On July 23, the Poplarville School District announced “masks and face coverings will be optional.”

But as outbreaks shuttered schools in nearby Lamar County, Poplarville Schools reversed course yesterday and will now require masks indoors and on buses. mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

Masks remain optional for many schools in Mississippi. Despite experts' pleas, Gov. Tate Reeves insists he has "no intention" of reinstating a mask mandate.

After returning from an Orlando vacation, he called the CDC's mask guidance "foolish and harmful." mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

“In Mississippi, we are a free people," Gov. @TateReeves declared Thursday, rejecting calls for renewed mask mandates.

"In Mississippi, we believe in freedom. In Mississippi, it is our belief in God that has gotten us through this last year and a half."mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

"The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending masking for all students, regardless of vaccination status. And yet we now find ourselves barreling toward the start of school without any policies in place to protect our communities.” —@MSeducators mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

“This year, we are combating a new and more dangerous strain of COVID-19 that has already sent children to the ICU. We don’t know the extent to which this new strain could affect unvaccinated students..."
—@MSEducators
mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

On Thursday, Gov. Reeves said “every government action that was taken last year was to protect the integrity of our health-care system and to bridge the gap to a time when a vaccine could be developed.”

But Mississippi ICUs are once again overflowing.mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

Gov. Reeves was in Aspen on July 20 when State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs announced that 13 ICUs were out of beds.

He still out of state, in Orlando, when Dobbs warned on July 27 that “we are seeing more and more ICU capacity being extinguished.” mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

Earlier this month, Dr. Dobbs revealed that Mississippi has 2,000 fewer nurses working in the state than seven months ago.

Surging hospitalizations from the delta variant are once again pushing health care workers to the breaking point in this 4th wave. mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

“Why are more people not talking about the fact that our hospitals are full in Mississippi with ICU bed availability scarce to non-existent? Amazing how people will refuse a safe and effective vaccine with no regard to the effects on others."
—@JBryan522 mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

Here's how Mississippi's COVID-19 situation evolved over the past month:

July 1, 2021 > July 29, 2021
Case Average: 193 > 1,475
Hospitalizations: 113 > 823
ICU: 36 > 226
Ventilators: 12 > 108
mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

Chart: COVID-19 cases in the Lamar County School District for July 20-23. (7/20-21 = teachers only)

Oak Grove alone reported almost 5x as many cases in the first 2 days for students in 2021 as the entire district reported in the first 7 days in 2020. mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

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UPDATE: Yet another Mississippi school district has reversed course.

On July 26, the Oxford School District Board of Trustees voted to make masks optional.

Today, the superintendent, citing outbreaks in other districts, reinstated a mask requirement. mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

Oxford Schools Superintendent: “Unfortunately, in recent days we have learned from some of our district friends from around the state who have already started school that a normal return may not provide us with the best opportunity to keep kids in school.” mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

Gov. @TateReeves: "I've no intention of mandating masks in schools this year. I said back in February & March & April that once the school year was over, that we would be beyond that. ... We won't have a mask requirement in schools—not in Mississippi." mississippifreepress.org/14272/as-outbr…

h/t: @dameofdementia

h/t: @jallen1985