With COVID-19 surging in Fulton and DeKalb counties, will Atlanta Public School return to virtual or hybrid learning?
APS announced via social media on Monday that it will alert parents this week of any changes to the planned post-holiday reopening on Jan. 4.
Just before the holiday break, two APS schools – Maynard Jackson High School and King Middle School – closed and returned to virtual learning after outbreaks of COVID-19.
For the week ending Dec. 17, APS recorded 435 COVID-19 cases – more than four times higher than the previous week – including 306 students and 129 employees.
“The district will continue its strict COVID-19 mitigation protocols, which include mandatory testing twice a week for employees, voluntary testing for students, and mandatory masks for everyone inside an APS school or office building,” the social media statement said.
Students and employees were asked not to come to school buildings if they are ill, showing COVID-19 symptoms, or awaiting test results.
Data from the Georgia Department of Public Health released on Monday showed a massive increase in the number of cases – jumping from less than 3,000 cases on Dec. 17 to more than 23,000 on Dec. 27.
During a Christmas Even briefing, Fulton County health officials projected at least 150 new COVID-19 deaths in the county by April due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms reinstated an indoor mask mandate, including private businesses, on Dec. 21 in the city of Atlanta.
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