State prefers masks in schools - Du Quoin holding off for present

Du Quoin school officials are watching the uptick in COVID-19 cases with concern, but are so far not changing their plans that call for students to return to class in mid-August without having to wear masks.

"At this point, I don't see any need to change what we have on paper," Superintendent Matt Hickam said Thursday.

With the increase in coronavirus cases nationally due to the Delta variant, the latest CDC guidelines recommend universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.

The Illinois Department of Public Health this week adopted those CDC recommendations as their own. However, they remain recommendations and not mandates, and individual districts are still allowed to make their own decisions based on the current state of the virus in each locality.

According to the Perry County Health Department website, there were 65 active COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. Less than a month ago, on June 30, the county had one confirmed active case. This week alone, 12 new cases were reported on Wednesday, 10 on Tuesday, and 20 on Monday (from the weekend).

Hickam said the increase in cases is concerning, but at this point District 300 will just keep an eye on it. He said he hopes the Perry County Health Department can keep them abreast of where the cases are cropping up - whether they are widespread across the county or in more isolated clumps - that will help the school district decide if and how to respond.

District 300's plan for back-to-school calls for students to return to class on Aug. 17. Masks are not required for students and staff, although anyone can wear one if they choose.

Should circumstances cause the district to mandate mask use, everyone will be required to wear them, not just the unvaccinated. Doing anything else would be "questionable," Hickam said.

Hickam said that provision - if mask-wearing becomes necessary it will be universal - is wise given the nature of the Delta variant, since vaccinated people have contracted it too in more minor form, and therefore can spread the virus.

Hickam said he's aware that people have strong opinions on mask-wearing.

"We have had tremendous cooperation," he said, referring to the last year. "I just hope people keep in mind that what we want - what we've always wanted - is to keep students in school."

"If masks are a way to help us make that happen, I hope people can understand that."

Remote learning, he added, will not considered an acceptable alternate form of education; it will be used only in the case of serious COVID outbreaks or when a case is discovered inside a school.

District 300 registration for the 2021-22 school year will be held next week, and Hickam said parents will not be asked if their child is vaccinated. Parents willing to share that information are asked to contact the school nurse in their building.

Hickam said a student's vaccination status will not be known to teachers and staff. The nurses will use the data strictly for contact tracing when COVID cases develop.

Hickam said he has extrapolated data that tell him currently there are only about 128 Perry County students between the ages of 12 and 17 who have been fully vaccinated.

In District 300 alone there are 700-800 students in grades 6 through 12.

Among staff the number of vaccinated is much higher. When District 300 helped the Perry County Health Department do a vaccine clinic last year, roughly 60% of teachers, administrators and staff got the shots. Hickam said he knows other employees have gotten vaccinated since then, but has no exact numbers.

In terms of school sports, no new directives have been released by IHSA and IDPH since June, which said most outdoor sports can be played without masks if they are low or medium levels of risk.

For indoor sports the IHSA guidelines say that unvaccinated athletes must wear masks in competition, but Hickam said Du Quoin won't parse the difference - either everybody or nobody will wear masks for indoor sports.

But Hickam expects new guidelines for school sports will be forthcoming from IHSA.