WAVY.com
by: Sarah Fearing
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The Chesapeake Public Schools superintendent is warning families and staff that some schools may need to prepare for the possibility of online instruction “in the near future.”
Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton didn’t specify which schools could be impacted by shifting to “yellow” status, but said the impacted school communities were “alerted of the change through a PAS message from their principal.”
The possible online learning is temporary and parents will be notified of any changes that will impact their children’s schools, Cotton wrote in an email to CPS families.
Cotton brought up the possibility of online learning in some schools during a school board meeting on Dec. 31. He said case numbers in schools have skyrocketed (18.4% positivity) and that he expects positive cases to be higher this January than last.
Click here to subscribe to our breaking news email alerts
Principals were told they need to have devices ready in case schools shift to online learning. However, the division cannot go solely virtual district-wide because state law now requires in-person learning to be offered.
During that same meeting, Chesapeake School Board members reversed a previous decision to make masks optional for students in schools. Just weeks before, the board voted to make masks, testing and vaccines optional for students starting Jan. 3.
However, now only testing and vaccines are optional as of Jan. 3.
Updates on COVID-19’s impact to schools, information on testing sites will be discussed at the Monday, January 10 school board meeting. There will also be updates from the Chesapeake Health Department provided at the meeting.
The email from Cotton also said Chesapeake schools will be offering free COVID-19 testing for students and staff thanks to a ViSSTA grant.
Students will need to be with a parent or legal guardian to be tested. Starting Friday, registration for the testing clinics is also required. Dates and locations will be listed on the CPS website.
The division will also offer COVID-19 vaccines through a partnership with Rite Aid:
Registration links are online for vaccine clinics.
The Chesapeake Health Department is also hosting vaccine clinics in Chesapeake school buildings.
Copyright 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — On Friday, Sentara Healthcare announced that they are postponing all hospital-based non-emergent surgeries, procedures and diagnostic testing starting Monday, January 10.
“The current strain on all healthcare facilities is undeniable. We must balance the urgent need to care for large numbers of COVID-19 patients with what is being asked of our dedicated staff,” said Mike Gentry, Sentara Healthcare Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “We cannot care for our community without first supporting our team members as they so expertly manage this large number of patients.”
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced Friday to life in prison, with a judge denying any chance of parole for the father and son who armed themselves and initiated the deadly pursuit of the 25-year-old Black man.
Greg and Travis McMichael grabbed guns and chased Arbery in a pickup truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick. Neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan joined the pursuit and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia recorded its highest-one day number of current COVID hospitalizations of the pandemic on Friday with 3,329 total patients.
545 of those are in the ICU and 297 are on ventilators, below numbers of the 2020-21 winter surge, but only slightly. Most are unvaccinated, data shows, and most of those who were vaccinated but now are hospitalized are at high risk due to age, chronic health conditions, etc. Hospitalizations are also at record levels for kids, and have gone up particularly among those under five years old (who are not able to get the vaccine).
Menu
