School, Library close amid COVID surge

A recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Lincoln led to the closure of both the Lincoln Schools and the Lincoln Library last week.

On Oct. 26, Lincoln Schools announced a return to remote learning after several teachers received positive COVID-19 diagnoses, beginning the week prior.

The following day, the Lewis and Clark Public Library also announced the temporary, indefinite closure of both their Lincoln and Augusta branches, due to concerns about community spread of COVID.

The closures came about a week after the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance noted the uptick in cases in an Oct., 20 Facebook post, asking residents to follow the guidelines for COVID.

"Positive rates are very high. Not all symptoms are the same. If you have been around someone with COVID, please isolate until you get tested," the LVA post said.

The LVA post also asked employers to send their sick employees home or to get tested, and noted that isolation order violations can result in civil or criminal actions being filed.

Lewis and Clark Public Health doesn't provide case numbers for the Lincoln or Augusta areas, citing state and federal health privacy laws. The county website shows overall case numbers for the county, as well as case numbers for students and staff at Helena area schools.

In the press release announcing the branch closures, the Lewis and Clark Public Library said they will closely monitor the situation in Lincoln and Augusts and reopen the branches as soon as they deem it safe to do so.

During the Lincoln Library closure, the branch staff will be available during regular hours for curbside pick-up, holds, laptop checkout and telephone and email reference questions.

Students in Lincoln are currently slated to return to in person classes Nov. 8 and several events planned for last week, including the Halloween Walk, Book Fair and PTSO Fall Carnival, have been rescheduled.

Lincoln Schools Superintendent Jen Packer said the school had positive tests among high school teachers beginning Tuesday Oct. 19, and took precautions during that week, but had another teacher test positive over the weekend, followed by two more on Tuesday, Oct. 26.

She said a lack of substitute teachers to cover for the teachers who were out after testing positive really drove the decision to return to remote learning, but also said there was concern that students had been exposed to the virus before the teacher's symptoms manifested.

"Talking to the school board, they thought since it is really just rampant and going around in Lincoln, if we take these two weeks hopefully we can get it back under control," Packer said.

Packer said about a quarter of the teachers at the school have tested postive at one point or another. She believes most of them got their shots during the first rounds of vaccinations earlier this year, but isn't sure if those who tested positive recently had received a booster.

The number of students who may have contracted COVID is a harder number to pin down, she said. "I don't know that they all go in (to get tested). A lot of parents were positive and they are close contacts, so they have to be out quite a bit. That was coming up, too."

"I really hate, hate, hate going online," Packer said, "but if I can keep it from being months and months and months, that's what I'm hoping to do. It was just snowballing, getting bigger and bigger and bigger, to where we just couldn't run the school. There just weren't enough teachers, let alone students."

The decision to close the school for a week and a half also brought the Lincoln High School volleyball season to an end just ahead of District Tournaments. At least one of the players was a close contact to a person who tested positive.

"I'm really sad," Packer said of the abrupt end to the season. "I tried to put it off and do as much as we could until we got more information about it."

Assuming circumstances don't change, the school's Halloween activities have been rescheduled for next week. The Parade of Costumes is set to be held at the school at 1:50 p.m., followed at 2 p.m. by the Halloween Walk for kids to Trick or Treat at Lincoln Main Street businesses. The Book Fair has also been rescheduled for Nov. 10, the Parent Teacher conferences are slated for Nov. 11 and the Lincoln PTSO Fall Carnival is set for Saturday, Nov. 13.