Over a thousand students were impacted as two schools in Alabama and Tennessee were recently forced to temporarily close due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
According to The Daily Mail, two school facilities were closed in Alabama and Tennessee, forcing students and staff members to temporarily transition to remote learning. Officials reported that a surge in COVID-19 cases had forced them to temporarily close for a “deep clean” just days after the start of the new school year.
The Daily Mail noted that the school closures, which were both in Republican-led states, were implemented despite multiple studies showing that remote teaching has a negative affect on students’ learning, social interactions, and natural immunity.
According to The Daily Mail, Johnson-Abernathy-Graetz High School, which is located in Montgomery, Alabama, was forced to transition to remote learning just four days after the start of school. The school, which has 1,500 students, closed on August 14 and 15 for deep cleaning after 15 teachers contracted COVID-19. After the school re-opened, masks and disinfectant wipes were placed in each classroom; however, masks were not made made mandatory.
Stigall Elementary, which is located in Humboldt, Tennessee, was also closed for a day of cleaning just a week after the start of the school year. The temporary closure forced 246 students to remain home on August 13.
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The Daily Mail reported that a Stigall Elementary spokesperson described the surge in COVID-19 cases at the school as an “uptick” and did not say how many students or staff members had tested positive.
Following the temporary closure, the school implemented cleaning protocols to avoid the continued spread of the virus. While masks and social distancing are currently not required at the school, teachers are now required to clean in between classes.
Ginger Carver, the communications director for the school district, said, “When students move from class to class, teachers will be wiping down the desks, the desktops surfaces. They’ll be using disinfectants. Basically, the protocols that we were doing back when COVID was full blown.”
According to The Daily Mail, COVID-19 cases have rapidly increased across the country over the past several weeks, leading to concerns that additional schools could be impacted by temporary closures, especially with states like Michigan, New Jersey, and New York starting school after Labor Day.
Estimates provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that as of the middle of August, COVID-19 infections were “growing or likely growing in 27 states,” were “declining or likely declining in 4 states,” and were “stable or uncertain in 17 states.”
