Benny Westcott
Friday’s National Honor Society Inductee ceremony at Sweet Home High School’s gymnasium honored the academic accomplishments of 26 juniors and seniors.
However, eight students were not able to attend the event as a result of the school district putting them under a 14 day COVID-19 quarantine from school functions.
The quarantines came after there have been “six or seven” confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among students at the high school during the current quarter, which began April 19, said High School Principal Ralph Brown.
Brown said that some 60 teens have been quarantined by the school as a result of those cases. That means that the high schoolers are not allowed to come to school or participate in school events for 14 days.
“What we’re hearing from professionals is that it’s not something students are catching at school,” Brown said. “Outside, students are exposed, and some students have come down with COVID. And then when they come to school we have that quarantine situation.”
“It’s kind of one of those inevitable things, when you have about 500 people together, we’ll have some quarantine situations,” he said.
He said that along with quarantining, “By wearing the masks and by doing the social distancing the best we can, I think we’re mitigating the spread.”
“Some point down the road my hope is that we’re past all of this and we can get back to, hopefully, the sense of the old normal.”
He spoke on how the pandemic situation has been hard for students.
“The social and emotional health and well being of the kids is one of the things that’s right in front of us constantly,” he said.
“It’s been a mess mentally and socially for kids, I think, all over the nation,” Brown said. “So I was thrilled that we’ve done everything that we can to safely bring kids back. Because I think having them here with us and with their peers and trying to bring some sense of normalcy to the kids has been very valuable.”
The quarantines come as the number of new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Linn County have been trending upward. In the seven-day period before The New Era went to press, from April 27 to May 3, 267 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the county, up from 184 in the prior seven days and 150 in the period before that.
The deaths of two Linn County residents as a result of COVID-19 were reported by the OHA during the most recent seven-day time frame. One fatality was a 73-year-old man, and the other was a 43-year-old woman.
As local businesses, including the Rio Theatre, were forced to close again last week as Linn County moved into “Extreme” risk per the governor’s mandate, Linn County Commission members Roger Nyquist, Sherrie Sprenger and Will Tucker signed onto a letter to Gov. Kate Brown from the Association of Oregon Counties requesting that individual counties be allowed to set their own business restrictions based on response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have reached the point where the vast majority of Oregon’s population most prone to serious illness has been successfully protected from the virus,” said the letter, which was dated April 27 and was signed by the leaders of the 15 – nearly half of – Oregon counties which have been raised to “Extreme” risk as of last week.
“We must all admit a documented case today does not carry with it the same weight as a documented case in the fall when so many of our fellow Oregonians lacked access to vaccine,” the letter continued. “The variants are indeed troublesome, and we share your concern for their spread.
“But shutting down our restaurants and further depriving Oregonians of their right to make calculated community engagement risks when the virus continues to spread elsewhere will not result in success. The time has come to allow our communities the opportunity to move forward while embracing continued health and safety precautions.
“Our people understand the risks associated with COVID and our businesses have proven their ability to adhere to the highest expectations in safety, sanitation, and air quality. It is no coincidence Oregon has not seen one instance of a super spreader event tied to our hospitality industry.”
Vaccinations Available
Meanwhile, Linn County Public Health continues to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics, which are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 5, and Thursday, May 6, at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road.
The Wednesday clinic will be by appointment and includes 1,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine and 942 second doses.
Public Health Director Todd Noble said first dose appointments are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Pfizer. Walk-ins are welcome, but the vaccine manufacturer will not be guaranteed and individuals may receive the Moderna vaccine.
If the Pfizer vaccine is preferred, please make an appointment, Noble said.
The Thursday welcomes walk-ins and will include 2,500 first doses and 842 second doses of the Moderna vaccine.
“We have plenty of doses and we are ready, willing and able to provide these vaccinations for anyone over 16 years of age,” Noble said.
You must be at least 18 years of age to receive the Moderna vaccine.
To register for a vaccination, visit the Linn County Public Health website at https://www.linncountyhealth.org/ or call the Samaritan Health Services COVID scheduling hotline at 855-441-2311.