COVID-19 contacts outside of school would still trigger an eight- to 10-day quarantine for students. Written By: Maria Lockwood | ×
The School District of Maple will no longer require students to quarantine if they come into close contact at school with someone who tests positive for COVID-19. The Maple School Board voted unanimously for the move at a special board meeting Wednesday, May 12.
The decision only affects students who come into close contact during school or at a school-related activity, including sports. If the close contact occurred outside of school, such as through a family member or sleepover, students would be required to quarantine. Students with no symptoms would be allowed to return to school after eight days if they test negative for the virus on days 5, 6 or 7, or in 10 days with no test.
Created: May 12, 2021 04:13 PM
After months of waiting their turn to roll up their sleeves, 12 to 15 year olds are now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
Many states will be using schools to get this portion of the population vaccinated.
WDIO spoke to Proctor, Duluth and Superior Public Schools about their plans to vaccinate students.
At Proctor Public Schools, efforts to vaccinate students 16 and up were underway Wednesday. Superintendent John Engelking said the district hopes to extend these efforts to 12 to 15 year olds as soon as Thursday with the CDC’s latest announcement.
“We’re excited to offer this opportunity for parents and for the community. Certainly, we’re a community school and we want to make sure that we get back to normal as soon as we can and fighting this pandemic with a vaccine is certainly one way to do that,” Engelking said.
A sign points to LMH Health s drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination center on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020.
Douglas County’s health department has been administering COVID-19 vaccines to about 280 people a day during its weekday clinics at LMH Health, according to data from Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.
Of those roughly 280 people per day, around 63 are receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine dose, while the others are receiving their second doses, health department spokesperson George Diepenbrock said.
Residents do not need an appointment to show up at the vaccine clinics at LMH Health, which typically run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Diepenbrock said about 40 people come each day without making an appointment first and that most of them are seeking their first doses, “which we are happy with at this point.”
Jolene Bechtel administers a COVID-19 vaccine at the Douglas County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
Data from local health organizations showed that more than 54,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Douglas County as of Thursday.
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health reported that 54,258 first doses and 44,924 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered. That’s an increase of 521 first doses and 743 second doses since the county last reported vaccine distribution information to the Journal-World on April 29.
Douglas County has seen a decreasing demand for COVID-19 vaccinations. The most recent vaccine distribution data shows the smallest increase the county has had since it began reporting vaccine distribution information to the Journal-World on Feb. 12. Previously, the fewest number of first doses administered in a week was 809 in late April.
photo by: Ashley Golledge
Malinda Hillebrenner volunteers at Douglas County s COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Douglas County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, 55,395 Douglas County residents had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).
Last week, KDHE told the Journal-World that 56,658 Douglas County residents had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. When asked why the number decreased from last week to this week, KDHE spokesperson Kristi Zears said there was a technical error last week that resulted in some duplicated entries in Douglas County. She said the error has now been accounted for, and specified that KDHE’s data is preliminary.