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Austin started increasing right at July 4th so we're a little ahead I'd say, we're over 30 days in.

I have no explanation for the decline in India.  Maybe folks get it and don't know it and they reach herd quickly?

Lots of speculation that the Delta variant burns through the population hotter and faster.

• Legislation signed by Governor Stitt in May (Senate Bill 658) prohibits districts from implementing mask mandates or requiring vaccinations for students or employees.  However, in our guidance to families, we are clear in stating that we support the rights of individuals to wear masks or face coverings. Given the latest surge in cases, I suspect we will have quite a few students and staff members who choose to wear a mask, particularly when they are near other individuals. The key wording in this legislation is "mandate." It is both reasonable and appropriate for any of us to request that others wear a mask when they are near us.  We simply cannot require it of students or parents. For example, a teacher might request that her students wear a mask when they receive individual assistance in the classroom, yet it would not be appropriate to restrict this access or issue other consequences to the student for not complying with the request.
• SB658 also restricts us from asking or requiring vaccinations as a condition for admission or attendance at school. Because current CDC guidance does not call for quarantines of vaccinated individuals, the district requiring unvaccinated students or employees to quarantine would possibly run counter to the "spirit and intent" of SB658. School districts in other states (Georgia and Arizona) who have passed similar legislation are already facing legal challenges for issuing quarantines to unvaccinated students. It is also noteworthy that our own quarantine data from last year appears to show a very low correlation (less than 1%) between positive cases and exposure to a positive individual at school. So, we will begin the year with a policy that continues contact tracing after we become aware of a positive individual and continue to notify employees or families of possible exposure. However, we will not require quarantines based solely on exposure to an infected individual. That being said, we intend to monitor our close contacts carefully this year to see if the newest variant has a higher rate of transmission among our students and employees. If so, we will reevaluate this practice to ensure your safety and preserve our ability to keep our schools open.
• As you will read in the letter to families, we will be limiting access for non-_PS employees until the local case numbers (as tracked by the Tulsa County Health Dept) return to "moderate risk" or "yellow" for two consecutive weeks. For context, every zip code in Tulsa County was in low risk (Green) at the end of June. Today, 29 out of 42 zipcodes are in Red or Dark Red (severe risk or extreme severe risk), including _____. As a result, we will again be conducting our Meet the Teacher events virtually this year and not allowing parents to walk students to class on the first day of school. Site principals will share more information with their staff and families tomorrow.
• Moreover, we have decided to cancel or postpone our Teacher "Welcome Back" event on August 10. While we know that teachers will be working and training together in their schools over the next two weeks, it is an unnecessary risk to bring together all 450+ of our district's certified employees in the same space six days before the first day of school. I value the opportunity to celebrate this time together so it is profoundly disappointing to have to push this back. We are looking at other plans and will share the details once we finalize them.