DARE COUNTY, N.C. — A top health official in the Outer Banks is urging school leaders in Dare County to mandate masks in schools.
Dare County students started school last week, with no mask mandate in place. But the board called a special meeting to take another look at the COVID-19 policies this Wednesday.
In an urgent email to Dare County Schools leaders Dr. Daniel Dwyer, Chief of Staff at the Outer Banks Hospital wrote, "As a physician, husband, father and community member I am telling you that we are in a crisis."
He said the Neonatal ICU at Vidant Medical Center is full, CHKD is stacking patients and all beds are taken at the Outer Banks Hospital.
Dwyer insists masks will go a long way in keeping students in school.
“It’s an important decision and you can’t underscore that,” said Dare County Board Member Joe Tauber.
The Dare County Board of Education will review school COVID-19 protocols this week. Board member Joe Tauber said in-person instruction is the top priority.
“What’s in the best interest of our students, parents and staff,” Tauber said. “It’s a wide spectrum there.”
The Dare County Schools COVID-19 dashboard notes 319 students are in quarantine, as of Aug. 30. Last week Currituck County Schools sat at 140 individuals in quarantine.
“We’ve got a tough position that we are in,” said Currituck County Schools Board Chair Karen Etheridge.”
Currituck County Board of Education Chair Karen Etheridge said rising quarantine numbers prompted the board to mandate masks during an emergency meeting on Friday. She said policies state any unmasked student identified as a close contact for someone who tests positive must quarantine.
“It was like a snowball effect,” Etheridge said. “Every student they came in contact with, then that is a 10-day quarantine. We knew exactly where this was headed, and it wasn’t headed in a good direction.”
Etheridge said the board acted fast to keep students in school
“We don’t want them in the virtual classroom setting if we can help it,” Etheridge said. “If it comes to that, well sure we will put that in place. But right now, we will try everything possible to keep our children in school.”
The Dare County Board will meet at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Dare County and Currituck County students started school last Monday.
Here is the full email below from a Dare County Schools spokesperson:
Dear Fellow Community Leaders,
As Chief of Staff for close to 350 providers through The Outer Banks Hospital, I write to request that you urgently mandate masking for Dare County students until this Delta variant surge is no longer a threat.
The Delta variant has proved to be more transmissible and harmful to those it infects, including children. It is imperative we do all we can to protect our students, many of whom are not yet eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Masks are a simple and effective measure that can make schools a safer place for students to learn. This does not have to be an academic year decision. Instead, I’m urging you to make a strategic decision to help get this immediate threat under control now.
Last year at this time, there were 21 cases of COVID-19 in Dare County. Today there are over 250 with a variant so contagious that each positive individual likely spreads the virus to six other people. In just the first week of the school year, we’ve witnessed children testing positive for COVID-19 and many being quarantined. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Vidant Medical Center is full and Children’s Hospital of The Kings Daughters is currently stacking patients. All beds are occupied at The Outer Banks Hospital and we’re having an increasingly difficult time transferring patients who require a higher level of care because hospitals throughout the region are also operating at capacity. Some patients are waiting several days in the Emergency Department for care.
Staffing shortages have forced us to reduce hours at both Outer Banks Urgent Care facilities in Kitty Hawk and Nags Head effective this Saturday, Aug. 28 so that we can continue serving the community while still caring for our frontline teams.
I don’t have to tell you that these challenges have a direct effect on the health outcomes of patients. Hospitalizations of those suffering from COVID-19 means there are fewer beds and resources for our community members experiencing other serious health challenges.
Our children look to us to keep them safe. Many of them hold a special place in my heart because I delivered them at our hospital. My hope for each of them then and now is that they remain safe and have every opportunity to experience an excellent education.
As a physician, husband, father, and community member, I am telling you that we are in a crisis. We must make difficult decisions now in order to save lives. Following CDC recommendations for masking in schools will go a long way toward keeping students in school, and teachers and parents at work. If we do not do so, our local healthcare workforce and services will be adversely impacted as students who are not masked will require testing, quarantine and possibly hospitalization.
I look forward to partnering with you to keep our students in the classroom and local access to healthcare strong for everyone who needs it.
Sincerely,
Daniel Dwyer, MD
Chief of Staff
The Outer Banks Hospital
Author's Note: The above video is on file from Aug. 17, 2020.