The second week of classes at Western Carolina University is now underway, and while the COVID-19 Pandemic means that it’s shaping up to be an unusual semester, many students seem to be happy with how the university is handling the situation. 

College students around the nation adjust to a new normal amidst COVID-19.

By Laurie Bass

Years from now, when we look back on the fiasco that is 2020, I wonder how we will feel about our foray into virtual learning and teaching. Will it be one of those experiences that time smiles upon, casting it in a friendlier light? Will we think about the extra time we got with our children and smile wistfully? Will we pat ourselves on the back for navigating uncharted territory with gumption and grit? Or, more realistically, will we shake our heads and praise the Lord on high that it was just a short season, and against all odds and despite many setbacks, we survived it and our children did too?

Even before Macon County students resumed classes Aug. 17, administration was already seeing the results of teachers returning to school.

Haywood County Health and Human Services are reporting six more deaths as confirmed by death certificates received within the past week. The individuals all died at Silver Bluff Village.

Haywood County Public Health received notice of 70 new cases of COVID-19 since the last press release on Aug. 7. As of 5 p.m. Aug. 13, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recorded 445 cases in Haywood County.

At a special called Jackson County School Board meeting on Aug. 11, the board approved the purchase — upon final legal review — of the School Pass app for $29,000 in order to keep schools safe and streamline the pick-up, drop-off process. 

Although the seven-day rolling average of positive COVID-19 tests continues to trend downwards across the state of North Carolina, western counties are beginning to see huge upticks in both cases and deaths. 

The Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency has identified a COVID-19 cluster connected to Haywood Regional Hospital.  Currently, fewer than 20 of more than 800 current employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, Aug. 4, Jackson County schools entered phase two for school athletics. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association laid out phase two guidelines for summer conditioning and workout activities in late July. The guidelines for phase two went into effect Aug. 3.