The Cherokee County School District will remain closed next week due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This difficult decision was made based on continuing high levels of staff absences and substitute teacher shortages due to positive cases and quarantines, as well as the current level of community spread and its resulting impact on emergency medical services and hospitals,” the district said Thursday.

The north metro Atlanta district had already moved its 42,200 students online this week after more than 400 teachers and staff were unable to work because they were either infected with COVID-19 or in quarantine following exposure to an infected person.

Several metro Atlanta school districts have stayed exclusively online all school year, but Georgia’s largest district, Gwinnett County, had been in-person and recently announced that it will also be exclusively online next week. Cobb County School District also announced Friday it will cancel in-person learning next week for students.