Ware County has shut down all its 11 schools after just one week due to a COVID outbreak among students and staff, News4Jax reports.
Ware County schools will remain close from August 27 to Sept 7. During this time, teaching will not take place, not even virtually. In-season extracurricular practices and competitions will continue as scheduled, according to an email sent by the district to parents on Friday after students were sent home early to allow for deep cleaning of the school’s facilities.
The district explained their decision to end all instruction but allow competitions to continue as scheduled in a social media post after backlash from parents.
“Some staff members are dealing with their own illness or sickness in their families, so they are unable to work right now,” Ware County Schools wrote. “Staff members at two schools are grieving significant losses. Many of our staff members have reported that this has been the most difficult start of a new year they’ve ever experienced.”
Superintendent of Ware County Schools, Bert Smith told News4Jax that the closure is mainly due to staff shortages since teachers are out sick with the virus.
There were 76 confirmed cases of COVID among the student population as of Friday and 679 are in quarantine. 67 school employees out of 950 have tested positive for the virus and 150 are in quarantine.
The district does not have a mask mandate for students returning to the classrom even though it was strongly recommended.
According to the New York Times, cases have surged in Ware County in the past two weeks to levels seen before the vaccines became widely available. About 29 percent of residents are fully vaccinated. 35 percent have received at least one dose. Among 15-19 year-olds only 14 percent are vaccinated.
Other school districts have taken a similar approach in response to a COVID outbreak less than two weeks into the new school year. Burke County schools will be closed for two weeks and Long County School District stopped all in-person classes, WSAV reported.
Overall in Georgia about 39 percent are fully vaccinated. 48 percent have received at least one dose.
