Increase in COVID-19 Cases Results in Lack of Staffing to Support In-Classroom Instruction September 20, 2021 – Dr. Richard O. Johnson, Acting Public Health Officer for Mono County, has issued a Local Health Order (Order) requiring the closure of in-person instruction at Mammoth Middle School and Mammoth High School due to an outbreak of positive COVID-19 (Coronavirus) cases. These cases have led to a shortage of staffing to appropriately support in-person instruction. The Order is effective Monday, September 20th, and expires Sunday, October 3rd at 11:59PM. Mammoth Middle School and Mammoth High School shall reopen for in-person instruction on Monday, October 4th.
The Order explains that “Mammoth Unified School District (District) has, at present, placed approximately 250 students, administrative staff, and teachers in isolation or modified quarantine; and at present, of the approximately 33 administrative staff and teachers at the District, 18 are subject to quarantine, resulting in a drastic shortage of staff available to ensure compliance with
California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidelines…” “We continue to see community spread, and remain concerned about the level of COVID-19 transmission that we are experiencing in Mono County” said Bryan Wheeler, Mono County Director of Public Health. “Unfortunately, to properly manage these cases within Mammoth Unified School District we must transition to distance learning to halt further spread and maintain continuity of learning. Our best chance at reducing the impact of COVID-19 upon our community remains through increased vaccination, masking, and following proper public health protocols.”
For further information related to the logistics of distance learning please call Mammoth Middle School at (760) 934-7072, and Mammoth High School at (760) 934- 8541. The official Order can be accessed under the Key Topics section of the Mono County COVID-19 Portal: https://coronavirus.monocounty.ca.gov. Mono County residents and visitors are encouraged to visit the California Department of Public Health’s My Turn website at myturn.ca.gov to schedule local COVID-19 vaccination appointments, or visit an upcoming Mono County Walk-In Clinic (https://coronavirus.monocounty.ca.gov/pages/vaccinations). Mammoth Hospital, Vons, and Rite Aid have all joined in the vaccination effort, and appointments are available via My Turn. In addition to the My Turn website, appointments can be made directly with
medical providers and at Mammoth Hospital.
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Frankly, the big push to get kids back in school was bound to come with complications and outbreaks. It already has across the country. The Delta variant is far more contagious and much more easily transmitted than the original virus. It is the dominant strain with 99% of the current cases.
According to the Yale Medicine website, Delta is believed to be more than twice as contagious as previous variants, and studies have shown that it may be more likely than the original coronavirus to put infected people in the hospital.
The Unvaccinated are driving the current increase across the country. Unfortunately, the longer this virus is around the greater chance for new variants (mutations) of it that may be even more deadly. The longer the rest of the world also remains unvaccinated, the greater the chance of more deadly mutations. More mutations increase the chances that current vaccines will be less ineffective or possibly not effective at all.
We’re a long way from this being over and more schools will likely find themselves in the unenviable position that Mammoth Lakes schools are currently experiencing.