MS schools are steadily climbing the charts with COVID-19 case numbers

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- It’s been a tough start for most schools in Mississippi as the Delta variant sweeps across campuses.

State leaders are working to keep infections off school grounds.

Statewide, schools are steadily climbing the charts with case numbers.

Backpacks, books, and pens are essential in the classroom, but safety is a top priority.

One by one, Coronavirus cases numbers are piling up in Mississippi schools.

The Mississippi Department of Health is requiring all districts to document weekly infections.

” This year has been strong as far as its contagious nature, and our numbers have been higher than they were last year, said Dr. Cherie Labat, Superintendent of the Columbus Municipal School District.

Labat said 2020 reports don’t compare to now.

There are nine schools in the district.

Dr. Labat said 23 students and 9 faculty members had the virus.

” There was an increase in numbers at the beginning of the year, and you can see the trend now. As the year moved on, more people were vaccinated and followed the protocols. Those numbers did go down,” said Chapman.

Craig Chapman, Principal of Columbus High School, says after data is collected, it’s sent over to the superintendent to be approved. Data then goes to the state health department.

If you look at the chart from August 9 to August 13, data shows at least one student or one staff member infected per week.

The “1-5″ only shows if outbreaks aren’t over 6.

” Sometimes when we have a higher number of COVID-19 cases, we have a higher number of quarantine numbers because if people are exposed as we follow the guidance to quarantine. We’ve had quarantine numbers up to 105,” said Labat.

“As the months have passed and the weeks have passed, our numbers continued to go down. We hope to see them go down even more,” said Chapman.

And attendance is calculated as a missed day.

” In our online platform, students are still able to part in their assignments and complete them. We report them as quarantine, and teachers do not count it against them if they are out. We report making sure we understand where we are with our numbers in our building and what steps should are taken,” said Chapman.

All case data will update at the beginning of the week.