There’s been lots of discussion ever since the recent ruling by a Sangamon County Circuit Court judge against mask mandates for school students or vaccination mandates for school staff. Vermilion County Public Health Administrator Douglas Toole says he realizes school districts have tough decisions to make, with more to come pending possible appeal decisions.
AUDIO: School officials are in a tricky spot trying navigate all the changes COVID’s bringing on, and this is just the latest in a long string of changes. So I appreciate the position they’re in, having to make a decision very quickly as things keep changing. And I’m looking forward to getting past this, and getting some real direction going forward.
Meanwhile, new COVID case numbers have been going down of late. While this is no time to assume it will always be that way, Toole says he is certainly hoping that it’s a trend that will continue.
AUDIO: We are certainly happy to see the number of hospitalizations and new cases going down. That’s very good news, and we’re very much on track with other states and countries that have had a surge in cases due to Omicron. We are hoping that this is going to be part of a permanent decease in the number of hospitalizations and new cases related to COVID, and that we’re not going to see another variant or another change that’s going to see those numbers go back up again.
The trend appeared to continue when the Health Department reported late Monday 1,363 new cases over the last 14 days, and 40 new cases over the last 24 hours.
