By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–The Henry County Schools board of education voted unanimously to require masks in all county schools when the district is in either the yellow or red phase under the state’s COVID protocols.
With Henry County now in the yellow phase, that means masking will be required in all schools, from pre-K to 12th grade, starting Wednesday, August 11.
Active COVID cases in Henry County have been spiking in recent weeks, with today’s total of active cases at 189, according to the State Department of Health.
Director of Schools Dr. Leah Watkins said COVID “hit us hard the first week. The teachers didn’t even know all the kids’ names when we started having to send kids home.”
The district currently has 24 positive cases among students, she said, noting that the district had to send 135 kids home through contact tracing. “This has definitely had an impact on our kids and our school system,” Dr. Watkins said.
The vote followed a plea from members of the local medical community and clergy, whose spokesperson was Dr. Paula Bell of Henry County Medical Center. The meeting was held in the bus garage to accommodate the large crowd which included several who came in support of Dr. Bell’s presentation.
Dr. Bell said the group was recommending a mask mandate for local schools “regardless of vaccination status”. She said COVID cases are rising exponentially among children and adults each week and the local hospital is running out of beds.
Children and adults under the age of 12 and over have had the opportunity to take the Pfizer vaccine, she said, “and most children 11 and under are going to school without masks.”
“Folks, there is no way for these children to be protected from COVID,” she said. “The ONLY way to protect them is to mandate masks and move them 6 feet apart.”
Bell said, “Our children will suffer if we have to close schools again. We have to do everything possible starting now to stop the spread of COVID” locally.
It is the responsibility of the medical community and the school board “to protect our children. People in the local medical community are “tired” and “exhausted”, she said. “We’ve given everything we have to the community to help people survive. We need your help because we can’t do it alone anymore.”
Bell said 80 percent of the COVID cases being seen right now in Henry County are the Delta variant. She said the Delta variant is supposed to peak over the next five weeks and if so, hopefully the dire situation will be behind us and the mask requirement can be lifted by Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Dr. Watkins said the state this year is recommending that students be placed three feet apart, not six feet as it was last year. “Three feet can be achieved, but six feet is a big challenge in most cases,” she said.
She said there would be parameters for the mask requirement, including that masks would not be required when eating, when receiving medication, when involved in competitions or contests.
According to the policy approved by the board, visitors to school buildings would be required to wear masks, too.
In other business:
FFA Advisor Laura Moss presented a program on the new Career Cruiser, which is designed to assist students decide on their future careers.
A reception for new teachers that had been planned for the meeting was cancelled due to the COVID situation.
Photo: Board members Tom Beasley and Stan Dunagan listen to Dr. Paula Bell’s presentation. Shannon McFarlin photo.