The Georgian high school captured last week in viral images that showed halls full of students will temporarily close after nine people at the school tested positive for COVID-19, the district superintendent said in a letter Sunday .
The letter, from Superintendent Brian Otott of Paulding County School District to parents of students at North Paulding High School, was received by NBC News. The letter did not provide additional details about who contracted the disease or what its conditions are.
Students will use a “digital learning” model Monday and Tuesday while the school undergoes deep cleansing, the letter says. Otott notes that the number of cases could increase if weight tests also return positive results.
The school will warn parents on Tuesday night whether in-person classes will resume.
School officials on Sunday did not return NBCNews’ request for comment.
North Paulding, located nearly an hour northwest of Atlanta, drew checks after its fall semester began Monday. One student tweeted pictures of other students, many of whom were not wearing masks, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the hallways of the school.
“Day two at North Paulding High School,” said student Hannah Watters in the picture. ‘It’s just so bad. We were stopped because it disturbed. We’re close enough to the point where I’m shot. … It’s just ok. Not to mention the 10% mask frequency. ”
Watters was detained for using her phone without permission on school grounds and other matters, although this suspension was later reversed.
In an open letter to the school community, Otott said critics had unfairly used the image to limit the district’s reopening efforts.
“Under the COVID-19 protocols we have adopted, class changes that look like this can happen, especially in a high school with more than 2,000 students,” Otott wrote. “Please note that this situation complies with the Georgia Department of Education’s directive, which states that ‘restricting the community of students from transitions to’ practicable ‘.”
“Well, with that said, the question is not that photo doesn’t look good,” he added.
