COULD OMICRON POSE AN ECONOMIC THREAT TO SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES

Last year Single Mothers Unite (SMU) reported on three single moms of Central VA and how they were recalibrating their lives Post-Covid. They shared their rendition of how life changed for them due to the events of the Pandemic of 2020. Social worker and school board experts also gave insight into how economic factors due to the pandemic have affected single parented households.

As an update to that story, the onslaught of Omicron, (the most recent strain of the COVID-19 virus) and the number of rising cases holds the fear of another shutdown. According to the CDC, there are over 73,000,000 Omicron cases in the US over the last thirty days. Outlets like Health.com have reported this strain to spread easier than the other variants even amongst the vaccinated population.

In recent news, newly elected Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin issued his second executive order which left the decision for mask-wearing in schools up to the parents. Local governments convened in school board meetings to finalize their district's verdict on what the mask mandate would be.

Bedford County School Board met this month and voted to remove the mandate along with contact tracing for all K-12 students which will take effect on February 1, 2022. Roanoke County also met and removed the mask mandate then several days later had a special meeting and decided to retract the order. The school division is currently still mandated to wear masks.

This news is especially threatening to the livelihood of the single parented family. Another shutdown could mean more job loss amongst working mothers which will take a hit on the economy. Tammy Green is a single mother to two with one school-aged child in the Roanoke County School system. "I am glad they reconsidered on the mask mandate. As a single mom if my child gets sick that means that I will have to miss a great deal of work because of the quarantine rules, and right now I just cannot afford to do that," she states.