Over 90 staff members in Georgia’s Barrow County School System are in quarantine due to a confirmed COVID-19 case, a suspect case or direct contact with a confirmed case, prompting the district to make a last-minute switch to virtual learning, district officials announced Wednesday.
The district had planned to begin the year with in-person and virtual learning.
“If today was the first day of school, we would have been hard-pressed to have sufficient staff available to open,” Superintendent Chris McMichael said.
Distance learning for all students will begin Aug. 17.
On Friday, district officials will “present a phased approach to bring students back into the classrooms as quickly as possible,” the school system said.