Two significant community institutions talked at length last week about what can be done to stop the spread of COVID-19 while trying to regain some sense of normalcy in our lives.
Not surprisingly, despite honest efforts, the results were mixed. Fighting a pandemic on a microscale without strong federal leadership is ineffective because policies change in every small community. We continue to struggle against the pandemic because there hasn’t been a unifying force for our nation on how to best fight it.
The School District of Monroe met on July 13 and discussed three plans for the reopening of schools after Sept. 1. Each plan has its own risks, whether from the possible number of cases of COVID-19 being significantly spread, to children missing out on the best education possible.
The Monroe Common Council met on July 15 and discussed implementing a city-wide mandate requiring facemasks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. That notion died on the council chamber floor not because it was a poor option, but because enforcement would be impossible.
When it comes to schools, the federal authority U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has said that schools must open to students full time this fall. Vice President Mike Pence echoed this mandate.
These federal officials, however, have not issued a blueprint on how this can happen. Stopping the spread of the virus requires six feet of separation between each person wearing face covering. This can’t happen in the majority of schools if they open full time, as if there were no pandemic.
Another issue boils down to human behavior — how easy will it be to have a kindergartner or first grader wear a mask all day? That will be a tall order for many students and a problem for many teachers.
At Monroe’s meeting July 13 about the opening of the local schools for the year, the three plans discussed were, basically: Plan A — a regular school opening with students and staff wearing masks; Plan B — Divide the student population into two groups who would alternate weeks of in-school instruction and online learning; and Plan C — a full-time online, or virtual, learning curriculum. Families will have an option to choose Plan C above the other plans.
Monroe schools have put a lot of thoughtful consideration into planning and as of press time for this column, a final decision on which plan will be implemented has not yet been made.
The federal government, which has threatened withholding aid from schools that don’t reopen full time, has not been helpful to overcome basic pitfalls in its mandate.
Pence said children, although they can catch and spread COVID-19, don’t have the same death rate as adults, and thus it’s fine to send them back to school. First of all, Pence is truly saying here that it’s OK to let a percentage of children die, because it will be a small percentage. That’s pretty awful.
Furthermore, what the Trump administration hasn’t tackled is the situation that will confront administrators, teachers, support staff, bus drivers, family members of students and whom they come into contact with while school is in session on a regular basis.
Local city representatives July 15 took a prudent step to discuss requiring masks in public. Enforcing such rules would be difficult. That’s why such legislation can’t come from each municipality setting its own rules. It would take federal legislation to enact rules to have more than 300-plus million people wear masks, socially distance and follow basic health guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Municipalities like Madison and Milwaukee have put mask mandates into place. They have higher numbers of cases per capita and larger gathering places throughout their communities.
As of Monday, Green County had a total of 116 reported COVID-19 cases and one COVID-19-related fatality. The county has launched its own mask-wearing initiative, “Mask Up Green County,” seeking to have people wear face coverings in public — a very positive step.
Many things could change in coming days and weeks that involve the COVID-19 trends we’ve been seeing. It is time we had some good news. In order for that to happen, we have to do the right things, like continuing to social distance and wear masks.
We need to be realistic about the contagious nature of COVID-19 and the potential health threat it continues to pose, no matter the age group of those impacted.
— Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
