ATLANTA — Just four days after schools opened for in-person learning in Cherokee County, at least three students have tested positive for COVID-19.
The cases include a first-grader at Hasty Elementary School, an eighth-grader at Dean Rusk Middle School, and a second-grader at Sixes Elementary School.
Plus there is one more possible case involving a Kindergarten teacher at R.M Moore Elementary School.
In all, four cases this week. Their classes have been notified, so now what?
Under Georgia Department of Health guidelines --
- If a person has mild symptoms, they can return to school after at least 10 days since symptoms appeared and 24 hours since the last fever, without fever-reducing medication.
- For someone with severe symptoms, they can return to school after 20 days since symptoms appeared and 24 hours since their last fever, without fever-reducing medication.
- For people who have no symptoms but were exposed without a mask, they must:
- Stay home for 14 days
- Monitor their temperature twice a day
- And, if possible, avoid others living in their home.
Cherokee County doesn't have a specific threshold or tipping point where they would have to close a school, and neither does the Department of Public Health.
They do not specify a number or percentage of positive cases that would mandate a school closure, because they say this is not a one-size-fits-all situation.
Factors like whether there was social distancing and if the students were wearing masks are considered on a school-by-school basis.
11Alive is focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. We want to keep you informed about the latest developments while ensuring that we deliver confirmed, factual information.
We will track the most important coronavirus elements relating to Georgia on this page. Refresh often for new information.
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