Victoria Harkless
Assistant Editor-In-Chief
As COVID-19 rages on, there are precautions being taken to keep everyone safe, but that has not done much to keep the numbers down.
According to azdhs.gov, as of February 1st, 2021, the numbers were up with approximately 3,000 news cases from the previous day. As the numbers continue to rise, President Joe Biden has put in a federal mask mandate. This mandate requires masks on federal property, planes, buses, trains, and in the airport. In making this mandate, President Biden hopes that local governments will follow suit by mandating masks, not just recommending them.
In Ironwood specific news, there were thirteen new cases on campus the week of January 25th when school was canceled. Ten of those cases were from students, and the other three were made up of staff. While high cases in the community did not cause Ironwood to close, once the cases of students and staff became interconnected, the school was deemed an outbreak center. There are no later numbers at this time because of the school closure, which is talked about below.
According to the Peoria Unified School District’s return to school plan, precautions are being taken on campus as well, and this includes masks being required on campus, air filtering systems being put in the classrooms, and sanitization of rooms being done.
In light of the rise, the PUSD school board, who oversees all matters of the school district, decided to close Ironwood. They came to this decision on Friday, January 29th, after school, and were prompted to remove students and teachers from the property on Friday afternoon to sanitize everything.
The school closure began officially on February, 1st 2021, and will last until Wednesday, February 10th, 2021. The closure includes pausing: in-person learning, athletics, extracurriculars, and COOP. During the closure, it is still expected that students are continuing to work online, and teachers are now working extra hard to conduct all of their classes online.
Sports and clubs will resume as soon as we are allowed to return in person, and there are people you can talk to about these uncertain times on campus. Ms. Voelker is an excellent resource if you are overwhelmed or anxious about this new situation. She is our campus social worker and can be found in the Guidance Office. While calls and emails are the best way to reach her right now, on campus she has every fidget type toy that you can play with while you talk and decompress about your anxieties, so be sure to visit her when school can open again.
As COVID-19 cases continue to climb, we at the Eagle’s Eye encourage everyone to stay safe and use the school closure to do your best to remain healthy!
Image Credit: Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash
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