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FROM STAFF REPORTS / Editorial 

In the last week, the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t disappeared, but it feels to have dissipated slightly with the return to school and sports as a distraction.

While the virus is still a very real threat to Shelby County and beyond, numbers are getting better and the county itself has been downgraded to a low-risk for the spread coronavirus.

Early in the school year, we’ve seen a few schools have to deal with some positive cases and quarantining due to the spread of the virus, but all-in-all, it has been a successful start and as well planned as we could have hoped for.

Many didn’t know what to expect when school boards announced plans for the school year and the Alabama High School Athletic Association announced plans for fall sports, but both have now returned.

At schools, students have been socially distanced and on staggered schedules to begin the year, while sports have maintained the number of fans attending games while keeping everyone in attendance socially distanced.

It’s challenging, yes, but it’s giving everyone the best opportunity at normalcy.

A week into school and a couple of days into the fall sports season, and it just feels like a more normal routine, which is something we have desperately needed for the last five months.

Walking school hallways, kids are smiling and excited to be around teachers and friends, even at a distance.

Suiting up to compete in football, cross country and volleyball, athletes are giving it their all and celebrating with one another once again.

Those sights and sounds remind us of what life was like pre-COVID-19.

There are going to be teachers, students and athletes that have to quarantine throughout the year, and we may see some cancel games and schools have to shut down for a week or two, but we are a lot further along than we were even a month ago.

This year is going to be full of challenges, but at least we are finally seeing some familiar sights in our daily routines.