Valdosta City Schools informed parents late Tuesday that it would close the school district after a student teacher indirectly came in contact with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
A Sallas Mahone Elementary School student teacher had indirect contact with family members last weekend who may have been exposed to COVID-19, according to a post on the school system's Facebook page. The teacher and family members have no symptoms of the coronavirus, but they have opted to self-quarantine for the next two weeks.
The school district immediately alerted public health officials of the potential exposure. Georgia Public Health officials advised Valdosta City Schools that the school employee likely has “an extremely low risk of any significant exposure to the coronavirus.” However, the decision to close the district, which has more than 7,000 students and nearly 450 faculty and staff, was taken as a precaution.
“Out of an abundance of absolute caution and extensive conversations with public health officials, Valdosta City Schools will be closed on Wednesday, March 11,” read a statement on the school’s Facebook page. “This will allow us to clean and sanitize affected schools and buses as a preventative measure. The health and safety of our students and staff is always our top priority.
“The school system officials will continue to monitor the situation and keep our community informed via our school district website, social media sites and our all-call system. Our response will adhere to the guidelines and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and the Georgia Department of Public Health.”
There are 22 cases of coronavirus reported in Georgia. The six confirmed diagnoses have been in Fulton, Cobb, Polk and Floyd counties. More than a dozen are presumptive positive cases including in Charlton, Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fayette and Cherokee counties.
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