FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 Superintendent Chris Elkington announced Thursday, April 14, that the 10-town district is seeing an uptick in cases — most of which are concentrated at Mt. Blue Middle School.

Elkington said Thursday there were 31 cases across the district, including 20 at the middle school in Farmington, according to a “COVID update” posted on the district’s Facebook page.

A day later, RSU 9 published its weekly case count. Forty-nine cases had been reported across the district the week ending Friday, April 15 – 35 of which were at Mt. Blue Middle School. This brings RSU 9’s total COVID-19 case count for the 2021-22 school year to 901, according to the COVID-19 information page on their website, mtbluersd.org.

Elkington said administration is assuming the spike is due to a wave of COVID-19 omicron variant BA.2. In the past few months, RSU 9 has seen a major drop in COVID-19 cases since weekly case counts peaked at 98 in mid-January – reflecting transmission rates in Franklin County.

The New York Times’ “Tracking Coronavirus” map and case count shows that numbers in Franklin County are starting to climb again following a mostly consistent decline since mid-January.

Now, New York Times data shows cases are once again climbing with an average eight new cases a day (a 96% increase in 14 days) and three hospitalizations (a 27% increase) by Sunday, April 17.

In the district, Elkington added that there is an “uncomfortable … stomach bug” making the rounds.

The district is advising staff in classrooms and on buses to open windows, use fans, take students out for short walks, and recommending students and staff wear masks – though not requiring it.

In early March, the RSU 9 board of directors lifted the district’s mask mandate. However, the vote also authorized Elkington to institute temporary mask mandates at individual schools “if there is an increase [or] outbreak in cases deemed concerning by the Maine Center for Disease Control.”

Elkington wrote in an email to the Livermore Falls Advertiser that the CDC has not set a specific number of cases when a school will need a temporary mask mandate, which would likely last for the incubation period (10 days to two weeks). The guidance will be “situational,” Elkington responded.

He clarified that the spike in reported cases occurred Wednesday, April 13, and was not followed by a large jump Thursday.

“[A temporary mask mandate] would probably be based on a continuous and growing increase of cases — a spike in cases making leaps and bounds in numbers at a school or on a bus for two to three days in a row or over two to three days,” Elkington explained. “We have not seen anything like that yet.”

However, the district’s case count does show an increase of 18 cases district wide and 15 at the middle school from Wednesday to Friday.

The update notes the uptick has also had an impact on the driving staff – where there is already a shortage in the district and statewide.

“We are presently using every staff member who has a bus license as we have half a dozen drivers out because of COVID,” Elkington wrote. “We can’t afford to lose any more of our drivers, and if we do, I may need to either cancel or consolidate some bus routes tomorrow.”

An announcement on any potential changes to busing were to be made Thursday night or Friday morning – though nothing was publicly announced.

Due to the uptick in cases, Elkington wrote that there are more students being sent to school sick with fevers.

He urged families to review and follow the district’s health screener before choosing to send kids to school or RSU 9 affiliated activities.