MS health officials: Sports and in-person classes may need to pause to fight COVID-19
Mississippi’s top health officer and epidemiologist both recommended Friday that schools consider pausing in-person classes and extracurricular activities like football games to help control the rapid increase in coronavirus cases.
“The schools have become one of the bigger issues this week,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said during the Mississippi State Medical Association’s weekly Facebook Live Q&A.
The last seven days have seen 1,300 more new cases of COVID-19 in the state, compared to the previous week, he said.
“We’re in a pretty rapid growth stage,” Byers said.
“Our caseload is unbelievable,” echoed State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs.
Dobbs, who has been critical of extracurricular activities during a pandemic, went further Friday, saying it’s a good idea to back off athletic activities, especially for spectators.
“I would recommend that nobody go and be a spectator at any sporting event right now,” he said.
“And I would strongly encourage that schools be looking at their schedules right now and say, ‘Hey, is this really necessary? Can we put off the games for a couple of weeks?’”
More schools are have had to cancel games, he said.
That’s also true for college and professional football. The Southeastern Conference canceled four of its seven games this weekend, including the LSU-Alabama and Mississippi State-Auburn matchups. Even “College Game Day” is taking a week off of football to broadcast from the Masters golf tournament.
Dobbs stressed that everyone is connected to each other’s actions when it comes to a virus spreading. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detailed how one wedding led to “a whole bunch of deaths.”
“We’re prioritizing youth sports, not only over academics, we’re actually prioritizing it over community health, just to be honest,” Dobbs said.
Byers also mentioned concerns about indoor basketball games. Studies show indoor spaces are more prone to helping spread the coronavirus, particularly those with little ventilation.
“I am worried about basketball and the indoors and the interactions, and I’m even worried about the basketball crowds who are going to games and standing in line at the concession stand,” he said. “We’re seeing cases that way as well.”
All school cases rising
Byers detailed how COVID-19 cases are now lowest in the 18-24 age group, but there’s “significant growth” in people over 50 and children 5 to 17 years old.
“Our schools, which by and large have done pretty well, have really started to see a lot of outbreaks, a lot have had to go to virtual,” Dobbs said.
The doctors said the increasing school cases reflects the growing community spread of the virus, but there are outbreaks in classrooms now, too.
“One of the reasons we’re seeing some of the outbreaks in elementary schools we’re seeing now is because the older kids got it in high school and spread it to their family and then those kids brought it to elementary schools,” Byers said.
Any school with an outbreak should consider going entirely virtual for a while, they said.
“We think kids benefit from being in class, we get that, that’s an important thing, but if you’re having outbreaks, a virtual break is a great idea,” Dobbs said.
What to know about coronavirus in MS
▪ Wear a mask. Harrison and Jackson counties are still under a mandatory mask mandate.
▪ If ordered into isolation, that is a legally binding order and it’s a potential felony for breaking it. Isolation is not the same as quarantine. Generally, those who test positive are ordered into isolation and those who are exposed should quarantine.
▪ “Testing should not ever get you out of quarantine,” Dobbs said. Testing negative five days into a 14-day quarantine doesn’t mean someone is in the clear. For example, a parent recently tested negative with a rapid test, but tested positive the next day.
▪ “Where do people catch coronavirus? They catch it from people they know,” Dobbs said. People are naturally more protected around strangers and less protected around friends and family, especially when eating. Taking a mask off to eat leaves people exposed to the virus.
▪ Anyone over 50 years old or with any kind of vulnerability, such as being overweight, should stay home as much as possible, “not go to church, nothing social,” Dobbs said.
▪ Don’t bring coronavirus home for the holidays. College students should be very careful two weeks before they return home.
▪ Thanksgiving gatherings should be “very small” and only immediate family.
▪ In Mississippi, healthcare workers will get the first vaccines available, which could be as soon as December.
▪ Hospitals and intensive care units are full and overtaxed right now. “Be safe because if you get seriously ill, our resources are tapped out,” Dobbs said.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 7:18 PM.
