Fulton County elementary school temporarily closed after COVID-19 cases
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FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Fulton County elementary school has been temporarily stopped in-person classes due to an increase of COVID-19 cases.
Officials announced on Facebook that Hembree Springs Elementary will switch to virtual learning for the next few days to address an increase in COVID-19 cases.
In a statement posted to Fulton County Schools' Facebook page, officials say the elementary school "met the criteria of a Level 2" for the school system's Closing Matrix. That means at least three students or staff members have tested positive for the virus.
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All students and teachers will be remote learning Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with the goal of the school reopening on Friday for in-person instruction.
The closure will allow time for contact tracing and the school to be cleaned and disinfected.
In the statement, school officials say they anticipated additional cases might occur and are following the process to address the closure.
"We fully acknowledge there are going to be cases from time-to-time that will require us to act. We are committed to following the process we have outlined to keep our students and staff safe and limit disruption to learning," officials said.
In the past two weeks, two other Fulton County schools have temporarily closed their doors due to COVID-19. Cambridge High School and Banneker High School are both now back open.
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Following the FCS Closing Matrix, we have met the criteria of a Level 2 at Hembree Springs Elementary School, and in consultation with Fulton County Board of Health, we are closing the school campus for 72 hours to allow for contact tracing and to clean facilities. All students and teachers will be in remote learning on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We anticipate school reopening on Friday for face-to-face instruction. Individuals who will need to quarantine for longer will be notified directly.
We anticipate that additional cases may occur. We are following the process we had laid out to address these with a localized approach to closure. The district continues to operate with face-to-face and remote learning instruction across the county and students will continue to learn.