As the debate about reopening schools continues across the country, many children are already back in classrooms or are about to start. One state that has grabbed headlines this week is Georgia, where photos of crowded hallways showing students without masks went viral.
Now, one of the largest school districts in the Peach State is reporting that 100 of its students and staff are suspected of having tested positive for COVID-19, even before in-person classes have started. Those figures were provided to the district by the Georgia Department of Health.
Cobb County Schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the district would remain virtual “until public health data in Cobb County changes and guidance from state and local public health officials recommends it,” according to ABC News Atlanta affiliate WSB. The district, which has about 113,000 students, starts remote learning on Aug. 17.
Georgia exceeded 200,000 COVID-19 cases on Aug. 5, according to an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency memo obtained by ABC News. It took four months for the state to reach 100,000 cases and just four weeks to reach 200,000.
Cobb County, according to the Georgia Department of Health, has more than 13,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 1,363 current hospitalizations. The county has at least 317 COVID-19 deaths, the second most in the state, trailing only Fulton County’s 420 deaths.
The state has more than 209,000 confirmed cases, with at least 4,117 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.
