BAY CITY, MI - Bay City Public Schools has temporarily switched two of its buildings back to remote learning this week as a significant number of faculty and students enter coronavirus quarantine, said Superintendent Steven Bigelow.
Neighboring Bangor Township John Glenn High School is also voluntarily doing remote learning this week after just one week of in-person classes, according to the health department. School officials there could not be reached immediately for comment.
In the Bay City district, Auburn Elementary School and Bay City Western Middle School are moving remote learning after students and staff were potentially exposed to COVID-19, Bigelow said. The district doesn’t believe school populations are transmitting the virus in class at this time, but there seems to be significant community spread right now, he said.
“I do believe that ‘wave two’ of COVID is here in the community,” Bigelow said. “These decisions are being made very quickly based on the situation, moment by moment.”
The district is working closely with the Bay County Health Department, Bigelow said, evaluating buildings individually on a week-by-week basis. Many schools have zero positive cases, and if all is well, Auburn and Bay Western could return to in-person classes as soon as next week, he said.
Public Health Director Joel Strasz said Bangor Township Schools' John Glenn High School also voluntarily agreed to move to remote classes this week. Strasz stated that the county saw an increase over the weekend of over 80 cases. He said that as of 8 a.m. this morning that there were 1,283 confirmed cases with cases trending upwards since the beginning of the month.
Strasz said that there were 945 cases as of Oct 1., meaning that there has been a spike of 338 cases so far this month.
There are multiple factors at play when it comes to this October spike, according to Strasz, with the cold weather that has been dominating the forecast remaining a driving force.
“It’s the cold weather, people are going inside and when they go inside more they’re in a social context,” he said.
In addition to the chilly weather driving people indoors and into close quarters, the return to in-person learning at school districts was noted by Strasz as another factor.
“On top of that, we’ve got a number of cases with the start of in school, we’re seeing those cases,” he said. “It’s not just Bay County, it’s throughout the state and throughout the region.”
The holiday season is quickly approaching, with Halloween capping off October. Strasz offered tips for kids and adults alike to stay safe and have fun this season.
The Bay County Health Department isn’t by any means saying absolutely no trick-or-treating. However, Strasz reminded parents that they should stay safe and to practice social distancing while sticking to outdoor venues.
“Any kind of activity that they can engage in that promotes distancing, wearing a face mask, not getting too close – really kind of an outdoor setting as much as possible,” he said.
The Bay County Health Department released a guide for parents on what type of activities carry what levels of risk this Halloween to help with their holiday planning. The health department also released a guide on safe trick-or-treating.
As for adults, Strasz issued a word of caution about having those traditional Halloween parties. While it may be a natural inclination to gather together and meet with friends, he said, parties can spread the especially if they are held with people that are outside of your home.
“Those types of situations, especially where there is alcohol involved will tend to spread the virus and we’ve got numerous instances of that in the last few weeks,” he said.
Click here to see the Bay County Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard.
To help you navigate this complicated fall, we’re pleased to offer you a simpler way to get all of your education news: Our new Michigan Schools: Education in the COVID Era newsletter delivered right to your inbox. To receive this newsletter, simply click here to sign up.
Read more:
Saginaw County reports rising coronavirus case numbers, urges return to the ‘3Ws’
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