Watersmeet to continue remote learning

By RICHARD JENKINS

rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com

Watersmeet — Watersmeet Township School District officials have decided the cold temperatures forecast for next week and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic were a combination that meant it was better to continue remote learning for another week.

Students in the district will continue learning from home at least through Feb. 12, the district announced Thursday.

“After looking at our COVID numbers and at next week’s weather forecast of minus 30 to minus 50 below zero the entire week, the decision was made to stay in the remote learning stage next week,” a district official said in the announcement.

Although remote learning is continuing, district officials were hopeful about the way local COVID-19 cases were trending.

“On a positive note, we are starting to see a decrease in the number of COVID cases in our community,” the district official said.

The district hopes to resume face-to-face instruction in the week of Feb. 15-19.

The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department reported Gogebic County had a total of 868 positive cases and 327 probable cases over the course of the pandemic, according to the WUPHD’s Thursday Facebook update, including 45 deaths and 18 active cases.

Ontonagon County has had 343 positives, 45 probables, 19 deaths and nine active cases, according to the Facebook update.

Information on the state of Michigan’s website shows 2,139 doses of COVID vaccines have been administered in Gogebic County through Wednesday, with 1,434 doses administered in Ontonagon County.