With COVID-19 cases on the rise and no vaccines widely available, most students in the Camas School District should prepare for more remote learning.

CSD Superintendent Dr. Jeff Snell hosted a meeting on November 10th, to provide teachers with a clear idea of what to expect within the coming months.

“We’re continuing to trend up and the daily rates are such that I don’t see us moving to moderate anytime soon without some dramatic changes in the community,” Snell said.

He added, “If we were to return to moderate, we would start our three-week timeline where we could potentially transition into full hybrid.”

Unfortunately, those changes are not happening. As a result, Governor Jay Inslee announced new restrictions on Sunday, in an effort to slow the exponential rise of cases statewide. Although these new guidelines may not directly affect how school districts currently operate, the announcement makes the continuation of a hybrid learning curriculum inevitable.

Snell said, “At this point, we cannot, with our current guidance given to us, start hybrid before winter break.”

He went on to say that the district will continue to serve the community by reaching out to those that are struggling to adapt to remote learning, as well as carefully reintroducing small groups back into the classroom.

Thanks to new data provided by Clark County Public Health, it is now known how coronavirus case numbers are stacking up within each age group. Those between the ages of 30 and 49 (26% of our population) in Clark County account for roughly 40% of our local coronavirus cases, whereas those 29 and under, (37% of our population) account for only 33%. This means that the 30 to 49 demographic has been the most active in the community, whether they take those safety precautions seriously or not.

The Washington State Coronavirus Response recommends that, “If you do go out, keep it quick, keep your distance and wear a face covering”, and that it is important to, “do business locally to avoid spreading the virus across county lines.”

In Clark County, there have been 6,749 cases and 107 deaths reported. Sure, 107 may seem like a smaller number now, but in the grand scheme of things that is not the case. The case/death ratio is about 1.6% which means that if everyone contracted the virus at one point or another, there would be approximately 7,946 individuals who would have fallen victim to the virus in Clark County alone. That is a significant number that does not even account for the other 38 counties in Washington state, let alone the nation.

With cases continuing to rise in Washington state, officials have been prompted to act accordingly. Dr. Snell believed it was the safest option to have a continuation of remote learning. Governor Inslee believed that it was important to approach the rise by implementing restrictions. These types of decisions are not necessarily easy ones, but they seem to be stemming from a place of safety. Decisions like this hold a lot of weight and will have a definite impact on people’s lives, positively or negatively.