BEAUMONT, Texas — Heading into the holiday weekend, schools are scrambling to control COVID-19.
On Thursday, Jasper Independent School District announced they'll be closed until September 13. They're the sixth district to close or shut down temporarily due to a surge in COVID-19 cases among the little ones.
“After a few days, she just kept getting worse. She wasn't getting enough oxygen,” said Terri Gurganious, Buna ISD parent.
Some of those cases have even landed kids in the hospital.
“He's, he gets sick very, very easy and I had to withdraw from school. He can't go. I can't be around all these people,” Lumberton mom Linda Dear said.
Dear refused to expose her children.
“I want to see the schools shut down. I want to see the kids go back to asynchronous until this is under control,” Gurganious said.
Gurganious is begging for children to return back to the kitchen tables and laptops.
“I really don't see any public officials, really interested in shutting down things are making kids stay home,” Dr. Msonthi Levine said.
Levine expects COVID-19 cases to keep climbing among the youth as long as the schools stay open.
But how many children are ending up in the hospital?
On Thursday, the Texas Department of State Health Services started sharing those numbers.
In the state, 282 pediatric COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized.
“That's the more common scenario, right. The kids get tested positive come home, and then infect the household,” Levine said.
From August 1 to September 1, DSHS data shows 63 children in the hospital across Southeast Texas.
“This strain will suffocate you. It's horrible; it's way worse than the first one, scary,” Dear said.
So while school is still in session, Gurganious is reminding you to remain vigilant.
“It doesn't matter how healthy you are, how active you are, what age you are. It does not discriminate,” Gurganious said.
Doctors said the only way to get our schools under control is by masking up and getting vaccinated if your child is eligible.