A school district in Georgia that saw the beginning of a coronavirus outbreak and now has more than 1,100 students and staff quarantined has chosen to close a high school eight days after the start of the school year. Cherokee County School District Superintendent Brian Hightower said in a message to parents that the decision to stop personal lessons at the school came after 14 people at Etowah High School tested positive for the virus, and 15 more were tested but had not received the results. “As a result of the confirmed cases, 294 students and staff are under quarantine and, if the pending tests prove positive, that would increase dramatically,” Hightower said.
The district had a total of 59 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Hightower’s report Tuesday. The district does not require masks to be worn when they are in school, but Hightower encourages children to go to schools that are not closed to wearing masks. “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.”
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