Marietta City Schools reports low COVID-19 cases; high school students return to classroom

MARIETTA, Ga. — High school students returned to the classroom in Marietta this week.

It’s in that school district—Marietta City Schools—where you can count the total number of COVID-19 cases with your two hands.

As of Wednesday afternoon, four staff members and three students have tested positive.

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The school district updates its running count every Friday on its website.

Channel 2 Cobb County bureau chief Chris Jose asked the Marietta High School principal how the district is managing to keep the numbers so low.

“I think the ionization in the building is helping. I think the partitions. I think the mask mandate,” said Marietta High principal Keith Ball.

Ball took Jose into a chemistry class.

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Jose said he saw partitions set up at every desk and students with masks at a safe social distance.

Ball told Jose every classroom in the district has a similar setup.

“We had this stuff ready to rock and roll in June. We had to figure out the best way to use it. We had the elementary teach us what was working and what wasn’t working. We had the middle school teaching us what was working and what wasn’t working,” said Ball.

Ball added that about 50% of high school students chose face-to-face learning. An estimated 1,250 students are back in the classroom.

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