Week in Review > Week in Review 09-03-2021
Posted by Buckeye Association of School Administrators on September 03rd, 2021CORONAVIRUS
Around one in eight hospital patients and one in five intensive care unit (ICU) patients statewide currently have COVID-19, Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff announced Thursday. “These ratios are even more severe in rural hospitals,” Vanderhoff continued during a press briefing, “with around one in four hospital patients and one in three ICU patients there due to COVID-19.” The daily update of 7,087 new cases was the highest number since the winter surge, with the exception of the Wednesday total of 7,102 that included more than 1,000 cases from an Aug. 15-25 backlog. ODH also said there were 240 hospitalizations and 29 ICU admissions reported in the last 24 hours. The 21-day averages are now 3,929 cases, 154 hospitalizations and 15 ICU admissions. Vanderhoff said that hospitalizations had been “relatively stable” in early July — when only a few hundred cases were being reported per day — but that has now “grown dramatically” to approximately 10 times as much. More than 2,500 Ohioans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, around 750 are in the ICU and 450 are on ventilators, he continued. Hospitals are only admitting those “seriously ill” with COVID, he added.
The Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Ohio Department of Health (ODH) said Friday that they are in the process of distributing surplus personal protective equipment (PPE) to schools, groceries, libraries, social service agencies and other entities.
After Gov. Mike DeWine shared plans Wednesday to try out a new testing protocol with 10 school districts in Warren County that could avoid the need for unmasked and unvaccinated children to quarantine after exposure to COVID-19, Melissa Cropper, the head of the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT), said DeWine would be better off ordering a statewide mask mandate.
EDUCATION
Gov. Mike DeWine asked the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Tuesday to look into Bishop Sycamore, identified as a school in Columbus, that lost 58-0 against Florida-based IMG Academy in a nationally televised game at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton over the weekend. The game, however, raised questions about Bishop Sycamore’s operations and status. ODE records list it among “non-chartered, non-tax” (NCNT) schools. Those ODE records provide a post office box as the school’s mailing address and list a physical address that matches the Resolute Athletic Complex, an indoor sports facility near Easton in Columbus. ODE later agreed with DeWine’s assessment that the Bishop Sycamore saga merits scrutiny but is exploring what authority it has over it, given its status as a NCNT organization.
State Reps. Adam Miller (D-Columbus) and Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Rock Creek) Monday introduced HB403 which is meant to close a loophole in the reporting process for teachers who leave schools while under investigation. The bill would require schools to file a report with ODE regarding teachers who retire under threat of investigation for misconduct. Under current law, schools are only required to report when a teacher resigns under threat of termination or nonrenewal of a contract while under investigation. Teachers may use this loophole to retire while under investigation for misconduct and then apply to work for another school or school district with nothing in their record. Under HB403, a teacher who resigned under the same circumstances would be reported to ODE so that schools and districts would be on notice.
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