Tuscaloosa City Schools Says 100+ Students Positive For COVID-19

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Roughly two weeks into the new school year, more than 1% of the nearly 11,000 students enrolled in Tuscaloosa City Schools (TCS) are out after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to the latest COVID-19 tracking data published by the school system.

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At present, TCS reports 127 students are confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, while 147 are currently in isolation due to testing positive or coming into close contact with a positive case.

Paul W. Bryant High School and Central High reported the most student cases among individual schools, with 16 positive cases each. Per the most recent data, the school system's total number of confirmed positive student cases for the year to date sits at 156.

ALSO READ: 600 Vaccine Appointments Scheduled Friday At DCH Amid Surge, Staff Shortages

However, in terms of current percentage of isolating and quarantining students for each school, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary is the hardest hit, with more than 5% of its 464 students testing positive or in quarantine for exposure. An elementary school leading the way for most in isolation should not come as a surprise, though, as the coronavirus vaccine has not yet been approved for use on recipients under 12 years old.

TCS points out that the numbers it tracks and reports reflect those who have received a diagnosis of a confirmed positive case and those who either are under ADPH quarantine or have chosen to self-quarantine and notified school officials of this decision.

The school system also reported that 10 employees had tested positive for the virus, but did not specify which schools they were employed at.

While Tuscaloosa City Schools did implement a temporary mask order to begin the school year, which will run tentatively through the first week of September, the system did commit to a full return to in-person instruction at the beginning of what now appears to be a full-blow fourth wave of new cases and hospitalizations nationwide.

In an effort to help boost vaccine numbers in Tuscaloosa as the new school year begins, Patch reported that the University of Alabama will offer doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine by appointment only on Saturday, Aug. 28.

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