Fulton County Schools will now require masks in all buildings as COVID-19 case numbers increase across the district.
The change means students who attend schools in Johns Creek will need to mask up starting Thursday.
When classes started Monday, masks were mandated except for in 15 schools in Johns Creek, where last week’s case counts were just low enough to fall under the district’s threshold for requiring face coverings.
On Wednesday, after the Fulton County Board of Health released its latest local case numbers, the district updated its list of schools where masks must be worn.
“As of Aug. 11, there has been a significant increase in cases across the county,” the district said in a statement. “According to the new data, all cities are being identified as high community spread by public health officials.”
The district’s policy requires masks in schools located in cities with more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period.
Johns Creek had 167 cases per 100,000 residents for the report released this week, compared to 98 last week, according to district-provided data.
Among the cities served by the district, Union City continued to report the highest number of cases with 601 per 100,000 residents. Last week, Union City’s incidence rate was 372 cases per 100,000 residents.
Since the start of the school year, hundreds of cases of COVID-19 have been reported by metro Atlanta school districts.
In the days before school began, the Fulton district reported 91 COVID-19 cases among employees and students. The district’s next report, which will include case numbers from its first week of classes, is expected Friday.
COVID developments in other school districts:
Cobb County: Fifth graders at East Side Elementary School will be learning virtually through Aug. 20
Clayton County: Students at Kemp Primary School are switching to virtual learning for the remainder of the week.
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