The Bemidji School Board’s monthly COVID-19 update appears to show slowly improving numbers.
Superintendent Tim Lutz said that student absences due to COVID are down to a third of what they had been a month ago, and minimal staff absences for COVID were reported in the last week.
County-wide, COVID numbers are slowly declining. Lutz said despite these encouraging signs at the moment, plenty of concern remains around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Around 42 percent of Bemidji students 12-18 are fully vaccinated, and about 12 percent of students 5-11 have gotten both shots.
Lutz said that as COVID cases decline and vaccination rates increase, the district may revisit moving the masking policy from a requirement to a recommendation.