COVID cases on rise locally

Local public health leader Jason Kloss weighed in Tuesday on the Luverne School District’s mask mandate.
He said Luverne is not unique — that every school district will eventually be faced with the same choice. “It’s no surprise,” he said. “That’s what COVID does when people get together.”
He pointed to the 14-day case rates per 10,000 people (based on population) leading up to the start of school on Sept. 7, which showed 30 on Aug. 27, 18 on Sept. 5 and 22 on Sept. 13.
Case rates should be less than 10 for safe indoor learning. “The case rates aren’t dropping below 10, and that’s what’s concerning,” Kloss said. “Schools are in a tough position, because where does school take place? Indoors.
Kloss serves on the school’s incident command team, which guides decisions about district response to COVID-19.
“The goal is to try to keep kids in school,” he said. “Masks will minimize exposure. When you’re talking younger kids who can’t get the vaccine, masks are important.”
He urged all eligible students and staff to be vaccinated. “You’re talking about minimizing impact to your student body.”
He emphasized that masks will help to keep schools open for in-person learning, and they will minimize the number of students and teachers who miss school for illness or quarantining.
“Logically speaking, this is the only way for schools to go,” he said about mask mandates.