Throughout the nation, COVID-19 is on the rise, and southeastern New Mexico is being particularly hard-hit with new daily cases in Lea County jumping to a 7-day average of 148. Some of those new cases are at Hobbs High School (HHS) which has decided to close on Wednesday, August 18 for deep cleaning.
Though Hobbs Municipal Schools has not disclosed whether the positives tests came from faculty, students or both, no students will be on campus on Wednesday. Instead, HHS students will be learning online following their regular class schedule.
For now, students will have the option of returning to in-person classes or continue remote learning through the rest of the week. Students have been directed to check their Google Classroom for instructions. However, the current plan is subject to change based on new information and recommendations from the NM Department of Health (NMDOH).
This news comes as New Mexico updates its public health order regarding the pandemic to require masks indoors while in public, which takes effect on Friday, August 20. The updated public health order is a response to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the state.
While HHS is closed on Wednesday, the school will be undergoing “deep-cleaning” and running HVAC units in an effort to sanitize the area. Hobbs Freshman High School (HFHS) will not be closed on Wednesday despite being located on the same campus, as the two schools’ facilities are largely separated. While students from both HHS and HFHS eat in the same cafeteria, their lunch times do not overlap and the cafeteria is sanitized following each lunch period.
All extracurricular activities will be cancelled for Wednesday at HHS. Once in-person classes resume, which is currently expected to be Thursday, students will undergo daily health screenings.
Generally children are at much lower risk of serious symptoms or death from COVID-19, but they are not without risk. In a press conference last week, Jennifer Pyeatt, the Pharmacy Manager at Covenant Health in Hobbs, noted that two children had died recently in Memphis, TN. Another child died Monday from COVID-19 in Mississippi. It’s also important to note that the long-term effects of COVID-19 infection are still unknown.
Health experts continue to press the importance of vaccinations in order to protect people from serious effects of COVID-19 and limit community spread. Pyeatt said in last week’s press conference, “To put it into perspective the risk of dying if you’re unvaccinated is 1 in 50. Your risk of dying if you are vaccinated is 1 in a million.” Despite efforts to encourage vaccinations, including a $100 payment for getting a vaccine dose, Lea County only has 21.5% of its total population vaccinated. Local health care systems have already been strained as the number of cases sharply rose last week, and hospitals in Texas are overrun, limiting nearby care options for people in Hobbs and the surrounding area.
Children under the age of 12 are still unable to get vaccinated, which makes them particularly susceptible to contracting and spreading the virus. With the school year in full swing, infection among children is a particular concern for health experts. More than 121,000 infections among children were reported in the US last week, a substantial increase following a steady rise of child infections since July, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Parents, guardians and students should ensure that the contact information on file with Hobbs Municipal Schools is up-to-date so they can receive the latest communication on the situation at HHS and other schools in the district should more schools receive positive cases.
