Over 100 students are quarantined in school district
Several students in the Corinth School District in Mississippi have been infected with COVID-19 a little over a week after in-person classes resumed.
Taylor Coombs, spokesperson for the Corinth School District, told CNN that six students and one staff member tested positive for the coronavirus. According to Coombs, 116 students that have been considered in “close contact” of a positive case have been sent home to quarantine for 14 days.
The student population in the district is 2,700. The Corinth School District told parents in a letter posted on Facebook Wednesday that an individual from Corinth Middle School tested positive as well as an employee at Corinth Elementary School. The letter said the school has done contact tracing and is asking anyone who had contact with the individuals to quarantine for 14 days.
While in quarantine, children cannot attend school or any activities, the letter said.
In-person classes resumed in the district on July 27, according to the school calendar.
The disclosures came as parents and teachers across the U.S. debate whether to return to the classroom, and whether to wear masks, socially distance, or try to make the 2020-2021 school year look like any other. While most schools are yet to return — New York is looking at the first week in September — some have already welcomed students back.
Corinth parents were able to choose for their child to return to the traditional attendance schedule or do virtual learning, and students can only enter or exit the virtual learning model at the end of a nine-week period, according to the district.