BALTIMORE — An expected surge of COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving has become a reality. Many school districts across the state are now reporting an increase in cases since the holiday.
“The uptick in confirmed cases since Thanksgiving is really alarming and makes it a lot more stressful as a parent,” said Rachel Duncan, who has two kids in Baltimore City Schools. “We want our children to be a learning in person and catching up on the work and loss of learning that they missed last year but at the same time we want them to be safe.”
Baltimore City Schools has recorded 460 cases in the last 10 days, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard. A recent outbreak among staff at Dunbar High School forced students to go virtual for two days.
“You’re starting to get emails everyday about positive cases instead of once a week or once every other week,” she said. “And you’re waiting for that phone call saying 'hey your child was exposed now we need you to go find a test'."
School districts in Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard Counties are also reporting an increase in cases.
This week, Howard County announced the district is canceling all extracurricular activities until mid-January in hopes to slow the spread.
“It’s a lot to handle on top of what was already a pretty stressful setup at the beginning of the school year,” Duncan said. “It is a very tricky time to navigate for parents.”
Meanwhile, parents like Duncan are taking extra precautions, limiting indoor gatherings as much as possible.
“School itself is a measured risk. I’m going to send my children to school. I want them to make up for last year’s loss of learning. And I know so many parents want the same thing,” she said. "But beyond school, I’m starting to really change our family’s protocols I guess on what we do indoors.”
