Staff shortages are starting to bite as Omicron hits Delaware County. The DelCo Times reports that Springfield Hospital is temporarily closing its ER due to staffing issues. Schools across the country are also showing strain from missing staff. Here in WSSD, the school district has started falling behind in its Covid reporting by email, but it appears the stats on the website remain up to date. I’ve put together a plot of the most recent numbers.

As the chart shows, Covid case counts are rising rapidly in schools now. Note that the week of Dec 27 – Jan 3rd is not included as the district did not report numbers during the week school was not in session. The chart from Monday shows a further 30 cases, already half of last week’s reported numbers – likely high due to the three day weekend.

Please wear a mask. Swarthmore College has advised staff not to use cloth masks, but to use disposable masks or double layer with a cloth mask. If you haven’t yet, get your shots up to date. I volunteered at the county’s vaccination clinic in Chester on Saturday and traffic was brisk with ages ranging from 5 to 97. There are still opportunities to get vaccinated.

update – I’m told that WSSD has decided to stop sending the Covid number updates, but I haven’t seen any clear communication from the district telling parents that.