COVID-19 cases within Cincinnati continue to spike as of Jan. 4, 2021. CincyInsights, City of Cincinnati

The Board of Education for Cincinnati Public Schools has pushed off decisions about how to handle nearly 400 staff absences as COVID-19 spreads throughout the district.

At least 388 CPS employees had called off work on Jan. 3 — the district’s first day back from winter break — due to COVID-19. Substitute teachers, administrators and dozens of central office workers filled vacancies, but educators and administrators say this isn’t sustainable as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus quickly spreads throughout Ohio and Kentucky.

“It’s a real crisis. It’s not sustainable to have safe staffing,” says Cincinnati Federation of Teachers president Julie Sellers, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The Board of Education met Monday night and debated what to do about the growing staff deficits across the district as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to spike at levels similar to those of late 2020, when many school districts went to fully remote learning models.

During the meeting, interim superintendent Tianay Amat proposed moving to remote learning beginning Thursday, Jan. 6, until at least Jan. 18, depending on COVID-19 community spread and staff levels. Amat said that the staffing shortages included educators, medical personnel and food service personnel.

Amat’s proposal recommended that all district schools move to remote learning, but some board members advocated for each school deciding to staff up or close.

But board member Mike Moroski argued that being decisive was vital.

“If we don’t shut down for this pandemic, the pandemic is going to shut us down,” Moroski said. “We had 11 schools that should not or could not have been opened today. We have to make this decision.”

The CPS board ultimately decided to postpone making a decision about the situation until the next meeting on Monday, Jan. 10. Until then, classes will continue as usual and other staff members will continue filling in for those who are absent.

Cincinnati’s coronavirus cases increased in December, which was largely attributed to the virus spreading during indoor Thanksgiving gatherings. According to city data, cases spiked with the Delta variant from July until October before going down for a few weeks and rising again in December as the Omicron variant rapidly spread.

As of Jan. 4, the city of Cincinnati has 560 new COVID-19 cases, though that’s likely an undercount, as it frequently takes health departments a few days to update data after weekends and holidays. Of the new cases, 160 are age 20-29, 111 are 30-39, and 71 are 40-49.

Doctors have warned that gathering indoors — particularly with unvaccinated individuals, without masking and without social distancing — increases the likelihood to both spread and get COVID-19.

COVID-19 continues to be a problem in Greater Cincinnati as well as throughout Ohio, Kentucky and the nation. On Jan. 3, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said that on Dec. 30, the state had 6,441 COVID-19 cases, the highest-ever for a single day (the previous highest number was 5,742 cases on Jan. 6, 2021).

On Dec. 29, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine reported that 5,356 residents were hospitalized with COVID-19, surpassing the previous record of 5,308 hospitalizations from Dec. 15, 2020.

During a Dec. 22 briefing, city officials gathered to share local COVID-19 numbers, urge vaccination and beg residents to reconsider indoor holiday gatherings in order to slow the spread of the virus. At the time, city health commissioner Dr. Melba Moore said that 69% of the Cincinnati region has been vaccinated, but breakthrough COVID-19 cases do occur in part because of the large number of unvaccinated individuals who can easily transmit the virus and because the virus continues to mutate.

On Dec. 24, outgoing Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after coming into contact with someone who had the virus. Cranley said that he experienced mild symptoms, largely attributed to his full vaccination and booster.

Leaders at regional hospital systems have been saying for months that they’re under great strain due to COVID-19. Exhausted healthcare workers are fearful of another coronavirus spike like the one that devastated the country last winter.

During a Dec. 15 media briefing with Hamilton County officials, Dr. Richard Lofgren, UC Health’s president and CEO, said that COVID-19 continues to be a big threat within the region.   

“If there’s any message I have that’s highlighted in the data, it’s that this pandemic is not over. It is active and alive and is actually overwhelming our health systems,” Lofgren said.

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This article appears in Dec 22, 2021 – Jan 11, 2022.