4 staff members at Bartow elementary school test positive for COVID-19

As Bartow County Schools reopen for in-class learning Wednesday, school officials confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that some staff members contracted the coronavirus.

“Four individuals at Mission Road Elementary School recently tested positive for COVID-19. Due to privacy laws, specific information such as the identity of those affected cannot be released by the Bartow County School System. We follow the Department of Public Health (DPH) time-cased return to school strategy for those with confirmed or suspected COVID-19,” the district said in a statement.

There have been over 1,600 positive cases and 60 deaths countywide, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. The county’s emergency management agency says hospitalizations have risen.

“Three or four weeks ago, the average would be in the single digits, now it’s around 19-20 per day,” said Bartow EMA spokesperson Alex Wright.

Cartersville Medical Center said Tuesday it is currently treating 19 COVID-19 patients and has sufficient bed and ICU capacity.

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Bartow County Schools says it’s committed to the health and safety of students and staff. Enhanced hygiene and social distancing will be practiced at schools. Face masks will be strongly encouraged but not required.

Some teachers have anonymously expressed concerns about the safety of themselves and their students.

A high school student told Channel 2 Action News that he had planned to return to in-school learning, but has changed his mind and will take virtual classes from home.

“I was more concerned about what are the chances of me catching it, and bringing it home to someone,” said 16-year-old Camden Devalentino.

The long-time principal at Cass Middle School says this was probably one of the smoothest first days, with less kids in the building, and new precautions and protocols in place.

And they hope to keep up those measures so they don’t have a spread and would be forced to close schools.

Principal Kristy Arnold said the school wants parents to know they working very hard to keep kids safe.

“Just know we are going to take care of your children, that is our number one goal. We want to keep them safe, positive spirits, and making sure we do everything we can to keep them educated and keep them in the building, and number one is safety,” Arnold said.

The county's health director says he has seen what could be a silver lining in the latest coronavirus statistics.

“It’s a very high rate of cases granted, but we might be in a slight downward trend compared to where we were a couple of months ago.” said GDPH Northwest District Director Dr. Gary Voccio.

Emory?s top infectious doctor explains pros and cons of reopening schools Channel 2's Kristen Holloway reports.

Cox Media Group