On Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Farley Verner, the health authority for the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District, ordered all K-12 schools in McLennan County to remain closed to in-person instruction until at least September 7th.
All school systems in McLennan County must also develop and submit a plan on resuming in-person instruction and extracurricular activities by August 21st.
Dr. Verner joined Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver and Dr. Jackson Griggs of the Family Health Center to elaborate on the decision in a press conference on Wednesday.
"The decision was based on an overall assessment of the current status of the epidemic locally. Currently in McLennan County we are experiencing a dramatic increase in community spread. This has resulted in a severe surge in COVID-19 cases. We've had a period of exponential growth in the number of cases, and this has resulted in a dramatic increase in hospitalizations and now deaths. Hospitals and providers are working to deal with the increased demands, but we are currently at a point where additional increase and spread in COVID-19 and an increase in cases would be poorly tolerated," said Verner.
Dr. Verner says that due to the high percentage of asymptomatic cases in school-aged children, as well as the higher than previously thought rate of transmission amongst children, the opening of schools could further the burden on an already stressed healthcare system.
"Since the onset of the surge in cases in McLennan County, school-aged children have accounted for 332, or 12.8% of recognized cases. This is higher than expected. Bringing together students, teachers, and school staff in a setting where although every effort to social distance is being made, it's still a setting where it's difficult to consistently maintain effective social distancing. Extracurricular activities bring together students, families, and friends where again social distancing and mask use can reduce the risk of transmission, but not prevent it entirely. Additionally, a large number of students in the county are cared for by grandparents. These grandparents are at significantly increased risk of severe infection," said Verner.
Though hospitals in McLennan County are not currently nearing their ICU capacity, Mayor Deaver did note the increasing stress on hospital staff members, who are often working longer shifts to account for the increase in patients.
"Their staff is being stressed beyond their normal workload, and they are worn out. Many of them are becoming infected with COVID-19 or have been exposed in a way that they're having to sit out for a while, so they're experiencing some of the impacts that our workforce all over the city and the county are, but then you add the stress of working every day with folks who are COVID positive. It's obviously a difficult situation for them," said Deaver.
Going forward, Dr. Verner says that the district will have weekly teleconferences with school administrators to prepare for reopening safely.