Awful Republican policies are causing COVID learning loss in SC all over again
Aug. 26 has been a banner day for COVID-19 in South Carolina.
One of the Fort Mill School District’s six middle schools has returned to all virtual classes as of today for at least two weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The school district’s COVID dashboard (remember the days when school district’s didn’t need such things) is updated twice a week, and, as of Tuesday, 166 students and 13 staff members had already tested positive for the virus with hundreds more in quarantine.
“The school district’s goal is to keep kids in school as long as we can do so safely,” Joe Burke, the district’s chief communications officer said Thursday.
The same day that Fort Mill school went virtual the South Carolina Department of Education announced it has reversed course and will again require students and staff to wear face coverings on school buses.
“The SCDE will again enforce the CDC’s Order requiring the use of face coverings by students and staff on state owned and operated school buses. All districts must be in compliance with this requirement no later than Monday, August 30, 2021,” State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman wrote in a letter to all district superintendents and transportation directors.
The letter noted that the state will equip all state-owned school buses with an adequate supply of face coverings that meet CDC requirements.
Also today, the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control reported one of its deadliest days during the pandemic in the last six months, adding 56 new COVID-19 deaths to the state’s total, which now stands at 10,413. It is the most deaths for any single day in South Carolina since Feb. 19 when the agency reported 67 deaths.
Just 24 days ago, in an Aug. 2 interview with FOX News, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster stood firm in his opposition to requiring schoolchildren to wear masks.
“We have seen what happens when these children are subjected to requiring masks, they can’t perform, they can’t learn,” he said.
McMaster then went on to talk about the trouble with online classes, which many experts agree is taking a toll on our students and the quality of their education.
“We’ve had enough damage to the education system already by virtual learning, which didn’t work at all,” McMaster said.
But here we are with at least one school - more are likely to follow - going back to virtual classes, mask requirements coming back to buses, and the number of cases and deaths on the rise.
To top it all off, the state’s vaccination rate is just 46.9%, despite the wide availability of free vaccines.
Gov. McMaster has had 24 days to watch the numbers rise and schools struggle with reopening. He sees what we see, yet his lack of leadership has left us in a perilous state.
On Jan. 29, talking about his opposition to abortion, the governor tweeted, “Soon, we will make South Carolina the most pro-life state in the country!”
If you mean it, Governor McMaster, do everything in your power, including working with the Legislature to allow mask mandates in our schools, to save South Carolinian lives from a virus that continues to send many to the hospital and some to the grave.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Awful Republican policies are causing COVID learning loss in SC all over again."