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More than 100 students at an Atlanta area charter school are in quarantine after two staff members and one student tested positive for COVID-19. The quarantine protocols came just one day after students and teachers went back to classrooms.
“We have been working closely with local public health officials to ensure we follow the proper recommendations to quarantine the students identified as close contacts and clean and disinfect areas of the school building,” Peter McKnight, Head of Drew Charter School, said in a letter to parents on Friday (July 30).
According to 11 Alive, most of the students in quarantine are in 2nd, 6th, and 7th grades. The school is also going to start reporting COVID-19 cases it finds out about on its website each week. The school is also offering on-site COVID-19 testing for students. While masks are recommended to be worn at the school, they aren’t mandatory.
“Know that we take the well-being of students, staff, and families very seriously. We appreciate your ongoing flexibility and understanding,” McKnight said in the statement.
According to the school’s website, staff members were required to be tested before the start of classes and on a weekly basis once classes began.
“We’re just going back, so it makes you on edge,” one parent of a student at the school told CNN. “I figure they shouldn’t be in the school if they’re not vaccinated,” the parent, identified only as Brandon, added.
“That’s why they should have held off until we got everything under control.” Brandon’s daughter told the outlet she was frustrated by the situation, given the school year just started.
Millions of students across the country are expected to head back to indoor classrooms in the coming weeks.
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