With schools across the country starting to reopen, a Georgia second grader has tested positive for the coronavirus after they attended the first day of school.
CNN reports that Sixes Elementary in the Cherokee County School district restarted in-person classes on Monday, and one student tested positive by Tuesday. The classroom was temporarily closed to allow for cleaning and sanitization, while the teacher of the class and 20 other students have since been asked to quarantine for two weeks.
The school district has strongly recommended that children returning to school wear masks when social distancing isn't possible, but it does not require said face coverings. Masks would only be mandatory if a statewide mandate regarding masks is implemented, the district has revealed.
The news comes just after a Paulding County school in Georgia went viral showing a hallway packed with students, and very minimal face mask usage. The Georgia Department of Education and Georgia Department of Health gave the school its blessing to reopen similarly, with "guidelines, not mandates" on how to safely operate in the midst of the pandemic.
Gwinnet County Public School, also in Georgia, has seen at least 260 employees test positive or come into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. A spokesperson for Gwinnet County stressed that the cases were due to "community spread," and that the numbers could lower or increase in the next few days.
