CDC photo
WILLISTON, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Bands from Minot middle schools have canceled their planned trip to the Williston Band Day parade Saturday due the measles outbreak, according to a message sent to Minot-area parents from school administrators.
“We understand this news may be disappointing for our young musicians who were looking forward to this event,” the message states. “We share in their disappointment and want to assure you that this decision was not made lightly. It was made out of an abundance of caution to protect the health of our students and families.”
As of Friday afternoon, North Dakota’s confirmed measles case total remains at nine, all of which are in Williams County.
The first confirmed case of measles in North Dakota was reported May 2, with three additional cases confirmed over the weekend. That total increased to nine cases Tuesday, including potential measles exposures to three Williams County schools. All nine cases are people who were not vaccinated.
Williston Basin School District 7 required about 180 unvaccinated students to quarantine for 21 days. That number has dropped to 150 after some parents provided proof of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for their children, said Paula Lankford, spokesperson for the district. Those students will be allowed to return to in-person instruction.
No new confirmed measles cases over the last three days is a good thing, said Molly Howell, immunization director for the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, but it does not mean the state is out of the woods yet.
“The incubation period for measles, the time period from when you were exposed to when you develop the disease, can be as long as 21 days,” Howell said.
Howell said to declare an outbreak officially over, two full incubation periods must pass with no new cases, which for measles would be 42 days.
Lankford said the annual Band Day Parade on Saturday will continue as scheduled with more than a dozen bands from across the state and the drum line for the New York Giants participating in the event.
“At this point, as a city or school district, nothing is being canceled, postponed or held back in any of the plans,” she said. Lankford added that high school sports and other afterschool activities were not affected by the quarantine.
In a notice posted to its website, the city of Williston shared North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services guidance that recommends “all residents and travelers to Williams County ensure they are vaccinated against measles.”
Residents wishing to not attend the parade and remain home due to safety concerns can watch a livestream of Saturday’s Williston Band Day parade through the Williston Convention and Visitors Bureau Facebook page.
Lankford also said there have been no issues in providing course materials to the students under the 21-day quarantine to ensure they can complete the school year.
The last day of school for the district will be May 23.
The measles outbreak prompted the Upper Missouri District Health Unity to host special walk-in vaccination clinics in Williston on Thursday and Friday.
Daphne Clark, spokesperson for the Upper Missouri District Health Unit, said the organization administered about 120 MMR immunizations on Thursday and, as of Friday afternoon, the foot traffic at the walk-in site had been “steady all day.”
“We’re seeing a lot of those 6-month to the 11-month (kids) getting that first dose and then that 12-month and older getting that second dose early,” Clark said.
She said some attendees were also getting caught up on other vaccinations, such as COVID-19 immunizations, while they attended the clinic.
The Upper Missouri District Health Unit holds regular walk-in vaccination clinic days at its Williston office on Thursdays from 3 to 5:30 p.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its weekly measles cases on Friday and reported an additional 66 measles cases were confirmed this week, bringing the nationwide total to 1,001 confirmed cases across 30 states.
Of those cases, 30%, 299 cases, involve children under the age of 5. School-age children between ages 5 to 19 represent 38% of the total measles cases nationwide.
Hospitalizations were required in 13% of all measles cases across the country. Children under 5 years of age accounted for more than half of the total hospitalizations.
Three deaths have been connected to the nationwide measles outbreak. None of the deaths involve cases in North Dakota.
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