South Carolina schools bear brunt of latest COVID outbreak as online learning returns

South Carolina has established a record for COVID hospitalizations in recent weeks, forcing parents to be unhappy as classes, schools have gone virtual. Since terminating the state of emergency in South Carolina on June 7, Republican Governor Henry McMaster has insisted that parents should be the ones to decide whether their children wear masks in school, despite the fact that the state's new cases have risen from 150 per day on average to more than 5,000.

Democratic state Sen. Marlon Kimpson of Charleston said, "we spiked the football too early. Instead of continuing to listen to medical professionals and interpreting the data, he has been guided by Republican Governors Association talking points."

Two dozen schools to return to online learning within a month

Despite advice from their own state health and education professionals, who claimed the statewide mask ban in schools took away one of their strongest instruments to stem the spread of COVID, the Republican-controlled Legislature added the provision that effectively eliminated most school mask mandates. Teachers, students, and parents are now dealing with the aftermath as more young people develop the delta variant, prompting nearly two dozen schools and two entire districts to return to online learning within a month.

Nicole Walker, a teacher, said that this is one of those situations where the adults should have risen to the occasion and done the right thing, creating a safe environment for the children. Educators are now discussing how districts are failing to provide protective equipment in classrooms and how more instructors are quitting just weeks into the school year, resulting in more kids crammed into classes. 

Mask rule reason for dispute

The mask rule is at the heart of the dispute. The proviso bans school districts from utilising state funds to enforce a mask-requirement regulation. Two days after McMaster terminated the state of emergency, lawmakers included the idea in the state budget. Masks, according to the governor, might cause developmental problems in young children. Summerville resident Brandy Sutherland said that she is furious with the governor's "foolish proviso," and with the school board's unwillingness to stand up and do the right thing. She further said that she wish that they could take the politics out of it and approach it like any other public health issue.

(Inputs from AP News)

(Image: AP)