Madison County charter schools move to distance learning over rising COVID-19 cases

Two schools in the Madison County Charter School System are moving to distance learning after a rise of COVID-19 cases in the student body.

Superintendent Michael H. Williams announced the move in a letter to parents, students, and staff saying that Madison County Middle School and Madison County High School will both do distance learning from Aug. 23 to Aug. 27 with the goal of returning to classrooms on Monday, Aug. 30.

Williams says the decision came after a "significant increase" in COVID-19 cases in the community over the last few weeks with positive cases reported in all of the system's schools.

As of Monday, Aug. 16, 30 cases of students with COVID-19 were reported. Four days later, that number had doubled. 

SEE MORE: Two Clayton County school go virtual after COVID-19 surge

"Currently our middle school and high school student cases have increased accounting for over half of the positive cases reported," Williams said.

The school system's elementary schools and its Early Learning Center will remain in-person with new mitigating strategies including limiting the lunchroom capacity, social distancing, and requiring masks on school buses.

RELATED: Lamar County schools pausing for two weeks due to impacts of COVID-19 surge

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, Madison County has reported over 3,000 positive cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic's start. In the last two weeks, over 200 new cases have been reported.

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