Fulton County: Teacher with COVID-19 had ‘a lot of contact with students, staff’

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    ATLANTA, GA (WGCL) — Fulton County Schools held a press conference Monday afternoon to discuss the closing of all schools on Tuesday after an employee was diagnosed with coronavirus.

Dr. Mike Looney, Superintendent of Fulton County Schools, said the person was an itinerant teacher at Bear Creek Middle School and Woodland Middle School. The teacher fell ill during their shift at Bear Creek Middle School last Friday and 911 was called. The employee is currently hospitalized. According to Looney, the teacher had “a lot of contact with students they serve and with additional staff members.”

The district said it will work with the Department of Health to help identify the names and contact information of everyone in which the teacher had contact. The district immediately closed three schools on Monday — Bear Creek Middle School, Woodland Middle School and Creekside High School. Creekside was closed because of its proximity to the middle schools, because the schools often share staff members, and since families often have students in both schools.

Looney added that closing all schools on Tuesday will give them time to pause to assess the situation and take extra precautions and cleanings. A decision on whether all schools will remain closed beyond Tuesday will be announced by 5 p.m. tomorrow.

At this time, it is unclear if the employee was in contact with someone who recently traveled to high-risk areas.

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