Not again! Waynesboro school closed due to positive COVID-19 tests

Cases of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, appear to be on the rise as kids return to school.

Waynesboro Public Schools closed its Wayne Hills Preschool Center through Aug. 23 “due to the number of staff who have tested positive for COVID-19,” according to a WPS Facebook post. “We are unable to maintain a safe environment without adequate staffing.”

All other public schools in Waynesboro are operating on a normal schedule.

Virginia is currently registering “very high” activity levels of the SARS-COV-2 based on testing of wastewater, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

According to the Virginia Department of Health, from Aug. 4 to Aug. 10:

• 6,727 Virginians tested positive for COVID-19, a 54 percent increase from the week before (4,275 cases)
• Hospitalizations are up 9 percent

“The percentage of emergency room visits that are for COVID-19 are increasing,” said Dr. Elaine Perry, director of the Richmond/Henrico Health District, in an interview with 8News.

The VDH COVID-19 dashboard shows:

• 3.07 percent of emergency department visits were diagnosed for COVID-19 in the weekend ending 8/17/24
• In the previous four weeks, hospital admissions have increased from 1.35 person per 100,000, to 2.50 per 100,000 persons.
• Three deaths were associated with COVID-19 in the week ending 8/10/24

UVA Health confirms it has seen an uptick in positive COVID tests (demonstrated in graph below).

A VDH spokesperson recommends staying up to date on immunizations for respiratory viruses including COVID-19.

“The virus that causes COVID-19 is always changing, and protection from COVID-19 vaccines and infection declines over time,” the spokesperson said. “Receiving an updated COVID-19 can restore protection and provide enhanced protection against the variants currently responsible for the most infections and hospitalizations in the U.S. “

Most Americans have some level of immunity to COVID-19.

“However, viruses mutate, by doing so they are able to escape some of our immunity, meaning that we are likely to still become infected,” the spokesperson said. “This is why it is important to stay up to date on immunizations to ensure you have some level of immunity to the latest circulating variants.

“As we see kids go back to school and as we get closer to influenza season when people tend to congregate more indoors, thereby often leading to an increase in the spread of all respiratory illnesses.  The best way to protect yourself and others from respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 is to stay up to date on recommended immunizations.”