Several teachers protested the district’s plan to reopen schools on Aug. 3, some even resigned due to safety concerns.
More than 1000 students have been quarantined in a Georgia school district due to possible coronavirus exposure since in-person classes resumed last week.
The Cherokee County School District, which serves more than 42,000 students and is located north of Atlanta, is also closing a second high school due to a COVID-19 outbreak, Business Insider reports.
“Since we’ve reopened, and as of this morning, there have been 59 positive COVID-19 tests confirmed among our students and staff, which have led us to mandate two-week quarantines for 925 students and staff,” Superintendent Dr. Brian V. Hightower said in a Facebook post.
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“We are not hesitating to quarantine students and staff who have had possible exposure – even if the positive test was prompted by possible exposure rather than symptoms, as all positive cases can lead to the infection of others,” he added.
“Our transparency to our community is far beyond any requirements by the Department of Public Health, but we believe our community benefits from our longstanding commitment to transparency. We don’t need social media to tell us to be transparent – it’s who we are because we care about our community,” said Hightower.
Read More: Nearly 100K children test positive for COVID-19 as schools reopen
Several teachers and parents protested the district’s plan to reopen schools on Aug. 3, some even resigned due to safety concerns, others criticized the county’s refusals to ‘made masking for students.”
“My personal fear is that I’m going to die before my career is over, that this tiny virus is what’s going to take me out, and not old age or some horrific accident,” said science teacher Olivia Vacid. “I don’t understand the county’s refusal to mandate masking for students”
According to a list the district created, nearly 1,200 students and staff are currently under a mandatory two-week quarantine, NBC News reported.
The state Department of Public Health reports that Georgia is currently averaging more than 60 COVID-19 related deaths a day.
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