COVID-19 is disrupting so much of life that it is difficult to keep up with the news.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has summarized the news of coronavirus cases reported in Georgia school systems and metro Atlanta governments this week. These are all fluid situations, so things might have changed by presstime, but visit AJC.com for the latest news on the pandemic.
Atlanta
• Residents in downtown started a petition to reopen Centennial Olympic Park, which is managed by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. It has 500 signatures so far. The park has been closed since July, when Executive Director Frank Poe said the authority had lost income due to the pandemic and couldn’t afford to keep the park open for public use.
Cherokee
• The number of students and teachers under quarantine this week in the Cherokee County School District doubled from last week. The number of infections has nearly tripled.
• With the second week of school ending, the district reports 80 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 1,106 students/staffers quarantined as a result. High schools seem to be the hardest hit. The numbers a week ago were 28 cases and 563 under quarantine in the district of about 40,000 students. See the school-by-school tally of cases and the quarantine count here. Two of the district’s high schools, Etowah and Woodstock, will be closed until Aug. 31.
Cobb
• Marietta City Schools, which reopened a week ago for virtual classes, could allow some students to return to in-person class as early as Sept. 8, according to a plan Superintendent Grant Rivera unveiled Monday. The plan said the district would return all students to the classroom if there was a consistent decline in cases.
DeKalb
• The Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $15 million loan program for local small businesses struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic. The money comes from the federal CARES Act money.
• The city of Tucker announced it is mailing 21,000 masks out to its 36,000 residents.
Credit: ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM
Credit: ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM
Fulton
• The school board announced Thursday it would delay the start of the high school football season to Sept. 14. Many schools made similar moves this week.
• On Friday, the county government signed a deal with Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn to have his emergency relief organization, CORE, help the county fight COVID-19.
Houston
• The county’s school system this week notified parents of COVID-19 tests at six more schools, according to Channel 13 WMAZ. The Houston County Health Department is attempting to trace staff and students who may have been exposed.
Paulding
• North Paulding High School, which received national attention for photos of crowded hallways and few masked students along with the administration’s response, was closed last week. But days ago, the administration announced that students will return to campus Monday part-time under a new plan to control the spread of the coronavirus. The school of 2,000 students and staff has at least 35 confirmed cases now reported, the School District released Wednesday.
Polk
• The county’s school system announced Wednesday it was suspending school the whole week of Aug. 17 before resuming four-day weeks due to concerns about the coronavirus, according to Channel 2 Action News. School buildings will get a deep-cleaning Monday, and teachers will work on their digital curriculum.
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