File photo by Casey Ferry The Warren Area High School Dragon sports a mask in May 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Editor’s Note: This is the third of five stories highlighting some of the most-read stories in the Times Observer during the past year. Today’s series focuses on COVID-19.

COVID-19 seemed to make barely a ripple here in Warren County for months — especially once the weather warmed up last spring.

But, colder weather, two variants of the COVID-19 virus and a surge in cases brought COVID from the back of our collective minds right back to the forefront of every discussion.

Readers noticed. Some of the most-read stories on timesobserver.com this year have focused on COVID-19, and all have been published since September.

A FEDERAL LAWSUIT

File photo by Casey Ferry The Warren Area High School Dragon sports a mask in May 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most-read COVID-19 development in recent months was the filing of a federal lawsuit against the Warren County School District over its decision to effectively make masks optional on buses and in school. At issue is the district’s Sept. 13 decision to permit parents to sign a waiver in order to exempt their children from state mask requirements without supporting medical documentation.

A complaint for injunctive relief was filed on Monday in the Western Pennsylvania U.S. District Court in Erie.

The plaintiffs are identified as nine minors “by and through their parent,” all of whom are identified by initials only. The suit was filed by Kenneth Behrend, a Pittsburgh-based attorney, and alleges violations of the Civil Rights Act, the American Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

In late November, counsel for the Warren County School District has filed a notice of proposed settlement in federal court that would resolve a lawsuit over the district’s attempt to circumvent state mask mandate requirements.

While nine parents signed on to the suit, there’s been discussion that a group of around 500 supported the initiative. Behrend said lawyers don’t like to deal in hearsay but said he has heard that number “bandied around.”

“The best way to describe it, the lawsuit is based upon violation of fundamental due process rights,” Behrend said. “That violation does not go away because the school board does now the right thing” as a result of the threat of litigation.

He said there “will need to be some kind of consent decree” so that the “parents have a guarantee the school board won’t change its mind.”

Cases And Quarantined Students

School had barely begun when news broke in September that the Warren County School District had dozens of COVID-19 cases among students and staff as well as hundreds of students in quarantine.

Amy Stewart, district superintendent, said the district was focused on doing what it can to keep schools open and maintain in-person education.

“Keeping schools open are a primary focus,” Stewart said. “We look at the data throughout every day to keep our pulse in what is happening at each school.”

Keeping staff healthy and off of the list of those quarantined is one of the keys.

“We know that we will have to begin to have conversations about closures if employees can’t come to work in large numbers,” Stewart said. “The other major trend we have to monitor closely is spread of COVID within the building.”

“We are implementing a lot of layers of mitigation strategies, all in the name of trying to keep schools open,” she said.

COVID SURGE

In addition to the surge in COVID-19 cases among school students, Warren General Hospital began taking concrete steps in response to COVID-19 in early September as well.

“Today, we reinstated the weekly Warren General Hospital COVID- 19 Planning Team and held a meeting at 8:30 a.m.,” according to CEO Rick Allen. “This action and meeting was in response to the rapid rise in positive COVID-19 inpatients and high number of outpatients tested and discharged to quarantine through the WGH Emergency Room and Walk-In Clinic.”

That sunny September day saw six COVID-19 patients at the hospital after not having a single COVID patient for roughly three months.

“Further exacerbating the situation is that all other hospitals serving our region are experiencing the same rise in COVID-19 positive inpatients and outpatients and filled with very ill medical/surgical inpatients,” Allen said at the time. “”This has caused transfers out of the WGH Emergency Room to be very difficult with 72-plus hour wait times.”

The surge came at a time when hospital staffing was critically low and, at the same time, when the hospital was negotiating a new contract with the union representing its nurses.

“Thank you for your on-going dedication and service to those in our community requiring medical care and treatment,” Allen said to the staff in a Wednesday email. “Together we will get through this pandemic.”

‘FULL CAPACITY’

The COVID situation has worsened in the county by early November, when Warren General Hospital officials told the Times Observer that the hospital was operating at ‘full capacity.’

Capacity was limited due to COVID, but the issue wasn’t entirely due to COVID-19.

While there aren’t as many COVID patients as there were during the surge in November, December, and January, that surge didn’t correspond with a high number of non-COVID inpatients.

“With regards to the current surge in COVID patients, we did not have the high medical census during the first wave of COVID that we currently have,” Joe Akif, chief nursing officer, told the Times Observer. “This high census challenge also impacts surgeries. If a surgery is not emergent, it may be postponed due to no inpatient beds being available.”

VACCINATION

Corresponding with the increase in cases and activity at the hospital, readers took notice of two stories dealing with vaccination this fall.

In early November, the Health Initiative for Rural Pennsylvania formed an advisory group that included members of Warren County government and stakeholder agencies.

At the time of the meeting, Warren County’s rate was 344.47 per 100,000 people and the statewide average was 249, according to the presenters. Warren County had the highest county COVID death rate in the Commonwealth. There are counties that have seen many more deaths, but none in which a higher percentage of the population has died due to the pandemic.

The data made sense to the Warren County contingent.

“Anecdotally, it matches the increase in deaths that we are seeing through our contacts in the healthcare field,” Akif said. “I guess we need to look no further that the Warren Times Observer obituaries that seem to be showing higher numbers than usual, as well as many sudden or brief illnesses preceding death.”

December brought news that a community vaccination campaign had begun, paid for with American Rescue Plan money.

“We believe very strongly that local voices need to carry the message conveying the fact that the vaccine is safe and effective,” Warren County Commissioner Jeff Eggleston said, “and we need a higher vaccination rate if we’re going to get past this pandemic.”