FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County Schools officials announced they plan to close all schools on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, after a teacher tested positive for the coronavirus.
The closure will allow for cleaning and disinfection of all schools as well as for district officials to conduct a risk assessment for the entire school system.
The district said the employee is a teacher at Bear Creek Middle School in Fairburn and Woodland Middle School in East Point. The teacher started feeling sick on Friday and was admitted to a hospital. It was Monday when the district was notified by the Fulton County Department of Health that the employee was diagnosed with COVID-19.
"This particular employee had a lot of contact with students that he or she serves and also with additional staff members," said Fulton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney.
Fulton school officials said they are providing the department of health with a list of students and staff members that the employee might have had contact with.
Due to concerns of possible exposure, students and staff at the two schools were sent home Monday. Officials said Creekside High School was also released early due to its close proximity to Bear Creek Middle School and because they share several staff members between the schools.
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For now, the entire district will be closed Tuesday. A decision about the length of the closure and next steps will be announced by 5 p.m. Tuesday, they said.
Updates will be posted on the school district's website, Looney said.
Monday evening, Gov. Brian Kemp gave an update about all of the cases in Georgia.
The confirmed cases are in Fulton County (3), Cobb County (1), Polk County (1) and Floyd County (1).
There are presumptive cases in Fulton County (3), Cherokee County (1), Cobb County (2) and Gwinnett County (1), bringing the number of presumptive cases up to seven.
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