Coronavirus School Closings In Georgia: List

GEORGIA — A growing number of Georgia school districts around metro Atlanta have announced long-term closures amid growing concern over the new coronavirus. Beginning Monday, all University System of Georgia colleges and universities will temporarily suspend instruction for two weeks.

Although no college or university in Georgia has reported any cases of the new coronavirus in students, many schools are approaching spring break.

Local school systems have already implemented some limited closures in specific areas to deal with recent presumed positive and confirmed cases of COVID-19. During a press conference Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp said day cares, schools, and school districts have the freedom to implement further closures as early as Friday, March 13, for the next two weeks.

"The Georgia Department of Education, University System of Georgia, Technical College System, and local school leaders have been invaluable partners to determine the best measures to protect students, teachers, and administrators," Kemp said. "We believe in local control for all systems when it comes to making the best decisions for their communities. They have flexibility, and regardless of whether they stay open or decide to close, we will support their decision."

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As of Friday morning, there is now one death, and 42 confirmed and presumed positive cases of the new coronavirus in 14 counties around Georgia, Georgia Department of Public Health said.

Here's a look at which Georgia school districts have announced closures:

• Forsyth County Schools: For the week of March 16-20, FCS will hold Online Learning Days. On Thursday, March 19, the school system will announce its plans for March 23-27, following a thorough review of the COVID-19 situation at that time.
• Fulton County Schools: Effective Monday, March 16, Fulton County Schools, including all schools and administrative offices, will be closed until further notice.
• Gwinnett County Schools: Friday, March 13, is a scheduled student/teacher holiday for Gwinnett County Public Schools. For the week of March 16-20, GCPS will hold Digital Learning Days. On Thursday, March 19, the school system will announce its plans for March 23-27, following a review of the COVID-19 situation at that time.
• Cobb County Schools: Effective Monday, March 16, Cobb County Schools, including all schools and administrative offices, will be closed until further notice.

• Cherokee County Schools: Cherokee County School District schools and offices will be closed for two weeks from Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 27. CCSD will use Digital Learning Days during this closure to continue teaching and learning.
• DeKalb County Schools: Effective Monday, March 16, DeKalb County Schools, including all schools and administrative offices, will be closed until further notice.
• Atlanta Public Schools: Effective Monday, March 16, Atlanta Public Schools, including all schools and administrative offices, will be closed until further notice.
• Hall County Schools: Beginning Monday, March 16, the Hall County School District will conduct school from home for one week
• Bartow County Schools: Bartow County Schools will be closed to all students and staff March 16, through March 27. Staff, if healthy, should report tomorrow, March 13. Student attendance is optional tomorrow, March 13, and bus routes will operate on a normal schedule.
• Douglas County Schools: All schools and school system offices will be closed beginning Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 27. All students and employees will return on Monday, March 30.
• Paulding County Schools: Beginning Monday, March 16 all Paulding County schools will be closed until further notice. The district anticipates the closure will be at least two weeks and the plan at this time is to reopen schools on March 30.

Colleges and Universities:

Coronavirus: All GA Universities, Colleges Closed For 2 Weeks

University System of Georgia institutions include:

• University of Georgia
• Georgia Tech
• Georgia State University
• Kennesaw State University
• University of West Georgia
• University of North Georgia
• Georgia Southern University

Beginning March 16, all University System of Georgia colleges and universities will temporarily suspend instruction for two weeks.

This will allow time for the colleges and universities to test their business continuity plans and online instruction modules, and for state officials to continue to assess the current situation regarding coronavirus in Georgia.

"Students who are currently on spring break are strongly encouraged not to return to campus. Students on campus are asked to depart campus by close of business Friday, March 13, 2020, and to remain away from campus until March 29, 2020. At this time, students are not being asked to move out of their dorms for the remainder of the semester. For students who are unable to leave campus, please establish a mechanism to safely accommodate those students on campus.

Please activate your relevant business continuity plans and ensure the operation of online instruction should that become necessary. Further guidance will follow as the situation warrants."

Although no college or university in Georgia has reported any cases of the new coronavirus in students, many schools are approaching spring break.

Distance Learning

School districts across Georgia have been preparing for potential closures for several weeks. The Georgia Department of Education urged districts to develop a plan to continue student learning should they need to close, using resources such as study packets, cable access, virtual school/online classes, etc. Georgia Department of Education's office of Teaching and Learning has compiled virtual educational resources that are available at gadoe.org/coronavirus.

School Meals

Food insecurity for students who rely on school meals is a major concern if extended school closures become necessary, officials said. Late Thursday night, the Georgia Department of Education received word from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that two waivers have been approved to extend alternate meal service flexibility in the case of extended closures due to COVID-19.

This will allow schools to serve students’ meals through USDA-approved meal service options, at state-approved sites within the community. This is similar to the way schools and districts offer student meals during the summer months.

District superintendents and school nutrition directors were notified last night and GaDOE School Nutrition staff held a call with school nutrition directors this morning to answer questions about the process. Local communities could begin seeing alternate meal service options as soon as the beginning of next week.

Kemp said Thursday afternoon that a person in Cobb County died from the new coronavirus. The 67-year-old man was hospitalized at WellStar Kennestone after testing positive for COVID-19 on March 7, authorities said. In addition to being infected with coronavirus disease, the victim also had underlying medical conditions, a news release said.

Presumed cases in Georgia as of Friday morning include: Gordon County, Fulton County, Cherokee County, Floyd County, Polk County, Bartow County, Cobb County, Gwinnett County, DeKalb County, Fayette County, Coweta County, Lee County, Lowndes County and Charlton County.

The Georgia Department of Public Health broke down the age and gender of the cases:

• 18-59: 48 percent
• 60+: 45 percent
• Unknown: 5 percent
• 0-17: 2 percent
• Male: 64 percent
• Female: 36 percent

Globally, more than 91,773 people have been infected and more than 3,337 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Friday morning. Of that total, more than 80,000 confirmed cases are in China, while the entire United States has 1,701 confirmed cases as of Friday morning. There have been 40 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness, including older adults (age 60 or older) and people with serious chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and lung disease.

Latest global and U.S. confirmed cases and deaths from Johns Hopkins.

Related: Interactive Map: Latest US Coronavirus Cases

Read More:

• GA Coronavirus Updates: What You Need To Know
• Coronavirus: All GA Universities, Colleges Closed For 2 Weeks
• GA Confirms First Coronavirus Related Death; State Cases Total 31
• Coronavirus In GA Suspends, Cancels Atlanta Teams' Games