A school district in Georgia that does not require masks has closed a high school and now has more than 1,100 students and staff quarantined because of the coronavirus.
The Cherokee County School District, based in Canton, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, made the announcement Tuesday, just eight days after its schools reopened.
“This decision was not made clear,” Superintendent Brian Hightower said in a statement regarding the temporary suspension of personal instruction at Etowah High School. He said the high school had 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 15 pending tests since Tuesday morning.
“As a result of the confirmed cases, 294 students and staff are under quarantine and, if the pending tests prove positive, that would increase overall dramatically,” the superintendent said.
In total, the district has 59 confirmed cases of the virus, Hightower said.
It also quarantined 1,156 students and 37 staff, according to a district list.
Hightower warned that because the cases of coronavirus are prevalent especially in the high schools of the neighborhood, more of these schools could be closed.
The Cherokee County neighborhood – which has an enrollment of 42,000, of whom more than 30,000 receive instruction in person – recommends but students do not need to wear masks.
But the superintendent said in his statement that wearing masks could help prevent the closure of more schools.
“As your Superintendent, I wear a mask when I can not social distance,” Hightower said. “We know all parents do not believe the scientific research that indicates that masks are beneficial, but I believe it and see masks as an important measure to help us keep schools open.”
“When we announced plans to reopen schools with options of personal learning and digital learning at home, we made clear the challenges that came with this choice for our families,” he said.
Before the resumption of schools on August 3, some teachers and parents protested the neighborhood plan.
In July, dozens of protesters, including teachers, protested outside a school board meeting, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.
And some teachers resigned before the school year began due to safety concerns, according to the Cherokee Tribune & Ledger News.
One of them was teacher Allison Webb, who worked at Sequoyah High School.
“Of the 2,000 students at this school, 1,500 will return in person – without a mandatory mask obligation,” Webb told the news in late July, saying this scared her.
Another teacher said she was also concerned about the lack of a mask mandate, but had plans to return to class.
“My personal fear is that I will die before my career is over, that this little virus is what will take me out, and not old age or some terrible accident,” science teacher Olivia Vacid told the Tribune & Ledger News. “I understand the province’s refusal to mandate masking for students”
