August 12, 2021
Dear Community,
We are so appreciative of what you all are doing to protect yourself, your loved ones, friends, and community during this pandemic. It has been a hard road to travel and, unfortunately, it looks like it’s going to be a little longer.
As you know, COVID-19 cases are increasing across Delaware County and the nation. We have not seen numbers this high since February 2021. The good news is, although the vaccine is not 100% effective, it is very effective in preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death. In fact, within the Health District from March 1 – July 20, 2021, 99% of our cases were unvaccinated, 93% of hospitalizations were unvaccinated, and 100% of the deaths were unvaccinated.
This week, Delaware County moved to a higher level of community spread, which was included in one of the two failing factors on our 5-critical factor report card. As a result, the Health District released an advisory for all persons – vaccinated and unvaccinated – to wear a mask inside public places and crowded settings.
We have worked closely and continue to work closely with all of our school districts to help make our children’s 2021-2022 school year safe with layers of protection per the recommendations of the CDC. Our school guidance, including a quarantine guidelines flowchart, can be found under “For Schools/Daycare Facilities” on DelawareHealth.org/covid-19.
We have been asked by many community members, parents and caregivers to require or mandate masking in schools. The passing of Ohio Senate Bill 22, effective June 23, 2021, limited the ability of a local health district to issue orders related to classes of persons without a documented case of disease and therefore, we are without authority to issue an order mandating schools to require everyone wear masks. As situations develop, specific guidance – based upon real-time information – will guide the Delaware Public Health District in making public health order determinations. Any orders related to masks will be made in accordance with Chapters 3707 and 3709 of the Ohio Revised Code.
The Health District will continue to conduct contact tracing and case management as we have been doing for the past seventeen months, including issuing isolation and quarantine requirements. If there is an outbreak, within or outside a school setting, additional guidance and/or requirements will be given at that time.
Dedicated to your health,
Shelia L. Hiddleson, MS, RN
Health Commissioner
COVID-19 Community Update 8.12.21
Last Updated on August 12, 2021
Superintendent of Schools for OLSD, Mark Raiff has communicated to parents that based on the feedback from his primary advisor re: C-19, Sheila Hiddleston, he will not mandate masks for K-5.
It would be informative to hear from Sheila about her (assumed) position that our age ineligible children for the C-19 vaccine are safe in a mask optional school environment.
What is her take on the effects of quarantine for these children when there’s no virtual option for school?
What are the anticipated ripple out effects for students and their families who will face financial hardships and possibly, food and housing insecurities as a result of the additional caregiving required for young children who are required to quarantine at home?
Does Sheila hold an advanced degree in public health or virology?
All EXCELLENT questions Nicole! Thank you for asking them on behalf of the parents of OLSD students!
It sounds to me that Heath department would mandate masks if they could. The Ohio senate prevents them from doing so. And for Olentangy schools to say that they are following Heath dept recommendation to wear masks, which is the only recommendation they can make, since mandate was taken away from them, seems like twisted logic by the superintendent. It was left up to Schools to mandate, but Olentangy won’t – because health department can’t? Makes no sense
Nicole Felica Lopez – I also find this to be somewhat suspect. My mother is also a Health Commissioner in the State of Ohio and although as stated above she is unable to mandate that the school districts in her area wear masks, she has advised all school boards that with the rising levels of transmission (her area and Delaware County are at the same transmission level) and the medical reports concerning children and the delta variant she highly advises all vaccinated and unvaccinated wear masks when indoors – including school classrooms. Now some school districts in her area have mandated masks and some have not, but I find it suspect that our health commissioner would not be giving this same message that I believe is supported by the Ohio Department of Health, Board of Pediatrics, etc. If Sheila is advising our school board to remain masks optional I would like to know what information she is basing her advice on that everyone else has apparently missed? Again I know she cannot mandate, but it seems Mr. Raiff has communicated that masks are optional based on Sheila’s advice. If the school board is not following Sheila’s advice then they should state as such.
How can I trust a school district to keep my child safe if the school district does not abide by the local health departments advisory.
So you decided to end run the State Legislature and create a completely ridiculous and BS guidance for contract tracing and quarantine that only applies to kids. This guidance is without merit and without science. Please share the raw data publicly that applies to Delaware county. Please show the peer reviewed study you utilized to determine that quarantining for 14 a child who wasn’t wearing a mask vs not quarantining a child who was wearing a mask leads to significantly better public health outcomes. Please show the peer reviewed study that demonstrates that a child with a mask on at 3 feet away from an infected individual is significantly less likely to be infected with Covid vs a child who was 3 feet away without a mask. Please show the peer reviewed study that determined that children wearing masks in school leads to significantly dramatically better public health outcomes vs children in schools without masks.
If you can’t show those studies (and here’s a hint you can’t) and the raw local data you utilized (which you don’t have and didn’t use) then this isn’t about Health it’s about control.
It is a parents duty and obligation to determine what is and is not in the best interests of their children. We have to take into account the benefits of wearing a cloth mask with nearly 0% efficacy at stopping a virus versus the detriments to our children’s health, mental well being and capacity to learn. We don’t do single factor analysis and no rational person or entity would either.