This Midlands school district will go ahead with graduation plans during pandemic
Graduation ceremonies have been held in Lexington School District Three for 100 years, and not even the coronavirus pandemic is going to stop the tradition.
Batesburg-Leesville High School seniors will get to participate in an in-person graduation ceremony, school district officials said Thursday in a news release. Graduation will take place even though Lexington Three canceled all other events through the end of the school year.
The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. on May 29 at Panther Stadium, according to the release.
While memebers of the Class of 2020 will get their diplomas in a similar way to thousands of Lexington Three students prior to them, the school district said safety measures will be “strictly enforced” to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Numerous additional rules will be implemented in an effort to keep our students, families and staff members healthy,” officials said in the release.
Following social distancing mandates is the most important rule the school district presented for the graduating class of more than 100 students.
That applies to the graduates, who will be positioned several feet apart on the field, according to Lexington Three. It also applies to the limited number of family and friends allowed to attend the ceremony.
Based on directives from state officials, each graduate will get two tickets, and each ticket holder will be required to sit in pre-marked areas that will be six feet apart, according to the release.
No more than one person will be allowed to sit in each area, and they will be dismissed in shifts in an effort to prevent large crowds from forming, the school district said.
Additionally, sanitation stations will be set up throughout the stadium, while no more than three people will be allowed inside of the facility’s restrooms at a time, according to the release.
Graduates, along with family and friends, are asked by Lexington Three to take any group photos at home to prevent any social distancing violations in the stadium as well as the parking lot.
“Lexington Three is pleased to be able to properly honor the Class of 2020, even in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. The district thanks everyone in advance for their willingness to comply with these rules for the well-being of all involved,” officials said in the release, adding “all plans are subject to change.”
The ceremony will also be live streamed, according to the release. In the event of rain or inclement weather, graduation will be moved to the Lexington Three Fine Arts Center, where the same rules will be in effect, school district officials said.
On April 22, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced all of the state’s K-12 students will spend the rest of the school year learning online, ending all at-school classes. But McMaster is expected to give “flexibility” for districts to choose how to conduct graduations, The State reported.
There have been 358 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lexington County, fourth most in South Carolina behind Richland (884), Greenville (689), and Charleston (441) counties, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Fourteen coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Lexington County, health officials said.
Information on potential graduation plans involving other school districts in Lexington and Richland counties was not available. Lexington Three has a much smaller student enrollment than most of the other neighboring school districts.
On Wednesday, 130 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in South Carolina, bringing the statewide total to 5,881 confirmed COVID-19 cases in all 46 counties, according to DHEC.
DHEC also announced that 40 more people died after testing positive for the coronavirus, raising that total to 232. State health officials described 192 of the people as elderly, 40 patients were middle-aged.
“There is currently no cure or vaccine,” the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said.
There have been 48,336 combined negative tests at DHEC’s public health laboratory and at private labs.
Symptoms of coronavirus can include a fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing, according to the CDC. Other symptoms that could be signs are chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell, according to DHEC.
Among the emergency warning signs of COVID-19 is trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, and blueish lips or face, the CDC said.
DHEC is encouraging people to practice social distancing to help stop the spread of the virus. Social distancing is staying away from unnecessary interactions with sick people and from large groups of people; it also calls for remaining at home unless it is absolutely necessary to go out.
As of Thursday morning, 3,209,984 people worldwide have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 228,057 people have died, while 985,957 have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States leads the world with 1,040,488 people who have been diagnosed with the novel virus. In the U.S. 60,999 deaths have been reported, including 18,076 in New York City, according to Johns Hopkins.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 3:08 PM.
