Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) announced this afternoon that all school buildings will remain closed to in-person instruction into January. In response to a pandemic health order issued earlier this month by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), TRCS began fully conducting instruction for all in-person and hybrid students through online streaming. That closure was scheduled to last through the expiration of the HHS order, which occurs on December 8.
Branch Hillsdale St. Joseph Community Health Agency
With additional closure orders in place and pandemic case numbers continuing to spread, Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) announced on Wednesday evening that it plans to close additional school buildings later this week. On Sunday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new order that required high schools around the state to close. TRCS subsequently closed the middle and high schools to in-person instruction on Monday, taking all classes to a virtual setting. Elementary schools will now also be subject to closure.
At the end of last week, COVID-19 statistics for St. Joseph County stood at 1,752 to date, including 28 cases resulting in death. The numbers, displayed on the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJ)’s coronavirus tracking webpage, mark a rapid increase since early October.
At a special meeting Thursday, the Three Rivers Board of Education (BOE) began an annual evaluation for Superintendent Ron Moag. Evaluation-related activities took place in closed session, and no action was taken pertaining to the evaluation. The purpose of the first meeting was for Moag to present a portfolio of his work and accomplishments. A follow-up meeting will conclude the evaluation process. Also at Thursday’s meeting, a pay increase vote was retaken to correct a conflict-of-interest error in a previous vote on Monday. In other TRCS news, two schools reported positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
The question of whether masks work has been debated since the first documented COVID-19 cases arrived in the United States earlier this year. Watershed Voice looks at the mechanics of how a mask stands up to the spread of a virus.
After remaining steady at 11 since late summer, the St. Joseph County death count due to the COVID-19 virus now stands at 15. One death occurred the week before last according to comments last week by Rebecca Burns, Health Officer with the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJ). Three more deaths were added to BHSJ’s online statistics early this week.
Following a period of several weeks in which daily new cases declined in St. Joseph County, the COVID-19 infection rate climbed again this week with over 30 new cases.
In a letter Tuesday, administrators at White Pigeon Junior/Senior High School announced that two individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 at the school. Administrators have decided to close the school building to in-person learning, instead commencing with all virtual learning starting on Wednesday, October 14.
There have been 11 confirmed deaths in the county since the start of the pandemic, while the number of new cases per day has dropped since August 25, according to statistics posted on the BHSJ website.
Three Rivers Community Schools reopened to instruction for the academic year under its “Return to Learn” COVID-19 response plan Tuesday. Board of Education members heard updates on the reopening, pandemic planning documents, and bond-issue construction work at a Tuesday evening work session.
With the end of August just a week away, pandemic infections and deaths continue to climb in St. Joseph County, while Three Rivers saw a hotspot occur at a local healthcare facility in late July and early August.
The total number of deaths in St. Joseph County related to the global COVID-19 pandemic rose again this week, according to statistical charts on county and state websites.
A free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing event will take place this Thursday, August 13 in Three Rivers. The Branch-Hillsdale-St. […]
As a result of the investigation, over 140 cats ranging from newborn to adult cats were seized from the inside the home. It took officials several hours to capture the animals. Several of the cats appeared to have health issues and will be evaluated by animal control staff and other professionals. It was determined that two of cats needed to be euthanized immediately.
At a Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) Board of Education work session Monday, board members discussed the latest updates to the district’s reopening plan, which it will formally adopt at a special meeting on Wednesday, August 12.
The total running death count from the global COVID-19 pandemic for St. Joseph County climbed from six to seven today, according to statistical charts on county and state websites. The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJ) updates statistics daily on its website, as does the State of Michigan.
The Branch Hillsdale St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJCHA) released a report on July 2 providing detailed statistical pandemic information for St. Joseph County, available in a document on its webpage. Watershed Voice looked into the staffing changes, capacity issues, and public pressure that served as a backdrop for the information’s release.
Confirmed and likely cases of COVID-19 are rising rapidly in St. Joseph County, according to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph County Community Health Agency (BHSJCHA). Health Officer Rebecca Burns, Three Rivers Mayor Tom Lowry, and St. Joseph County Emergency Manager Erin Goff spoke with Watershed Voice about the troubling trend Wednesday.