Walker County Schools has announced it will close all its campuses through Thanksgiving break, as more than 100 students and teachers have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The decision by the Georgia district to close all schools comes just days after LaFayette High School had to be closed because of a sudden increase in positive cases over the weekend that were confirmed to come from outside of school.
The COVID-19 cases spread to other schools, which forced Superintendent Damon Raines to make a sweeping decision for all the schools in the system.
“Over the past two weeks, we have seen a surge across the district due to factors outside of the school buildings and our control,” Raines wrote to teachers and staff in an email this week. “This has caused a spike in positive cases, the associated close contact quarantines and the need for many teachers to stay home and provide necessary child care due to positive or quarantined students or closed day care facilities.”
The school district releases its COVID-19 report every Friday afternoon. On Nov. 13, 77 students and 29 staff members were positive with COVID-19. That forced 957 students and 49 staff members to quarantine.