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An entire second grade class in Georgia and their teacher must quarantine after a student tested pos...
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An Entire 2nd Grade Class & Their Teacher Must Quarantine After First Day Of School

by Morgan Brinlee

Sixes Elementary School in Canton, Georgia, had only been reopened for in-person instruction for one day when a student tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, an entire second grade class and its teacher must now quarantine at home for two weeks. Cherokee County School District, of which Sixes Elementary School belongs, has since reported three additional cases of COVID-19.

The parents of 20 second graders at Sixes Elementary School were notified Tuesday that their children had been exposed to someone confirmed to have COVID-19, NBC News reported a statement from Cherokee County School District said. Parents were asked to quarantine their children for a minimum of 14 days, during which time they would be taught remotely, the news outlet reported. The class' teacher has also been sent home and asked to quarantine, according to the district.

A spokesperson for the district told 11Alive that the second grade Sixes Elementary School student was the first positive COVID-19 case to have been reported within the school district. While the student did not attend class on Tuesday, they were in class on Monday for the school's first day of in-person instruction. According to the district, the student did not begin exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 until school had ended Monday, at which point their parents sought medical attention and testing. The school has closed the second grade classroom in question for a deep cleaning as outlined in the exposure and response part of its reopening plan, 11Alive reported.

On Wednesday, the Cherokee County School District had reported positive COVID-19 cases at three more of its schools. These include a first-grade student at Hasty Elementary School Fine Arts Academy, an eighth-grade student at Dean Rusk Middle School, and a kindergarten teacher at R.M. Moore Elementary School STEM Academy, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The school district told the newspaper that 10 students and one teacher had been asked to quarantine at home as a result of the case at Hasty Elementary School Fine Arts Academy. While the school planned to deep clean the fifth-grade classroom, there were no plans to temporarily close the classroom following the exposure. Meanwhile, 15 students have been asked to quarantine at Dean Rusk Middle School, which also had no plans of closing the infected student's classroom. At R.M. Moore Elementary School STEM Academy, 16 kindergartners have been sent home to quarantine after their teacher began exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 after being exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus.

News of the district's growing positive COVID-19 cases come as schools across the country finalize their reopening plans for the upcoming school year.

If you think you’re showing symptoms of coronavirus, which include fever, shortness of breath, and cough, call your doctor before going to get tested. If you’re anxious about the virus’s spread in your community, visit the CDC for up-to-date information and resources, or seek out mental health support. You can find all of Romper’s parents + coronavirus coverage here.