PARIS — Around Maine, school administrators have been bracing for a bump of COVID cases as students and staff returned from April vacation. With a new variant, BA.2, becoming the dominant strain in Maine, cases and hospitalizations are once again on the rise.

So far in Oxford Hills, school nurses have not seen increases. Head Nurse Beth Gallagher told the Advertiser Democrat Tuesday that while things are looking okay she is waiting for the end of the week to make the call.

Cases in Oxford Hills started creeping up again in early April. By April 7, there were 54 confirmed and probable illnesses in the district. One week later cases stood at 73 as spring break began.

But, by the end of the day Monday, the first day back for students and staff, positive cases had dropped to 21.

Illnesses are down, but in schools nurses are still busy responding to COVID. Gallagher said her staff continues to see a steady flow of people reporting symptoms and taking rapid tests during the day.

SAD 17 is still participating in pooled testing.

In another sign of weathering the BA.2 spike, which is more contagious but tends to be a less serious illness, Gallagher said they have been able to focus on more routine student care recently. School nurses and support staff are providing hearing and vision screenings this week, which is the kind of standard student care that had fallen by the wayside during the pandemic.