Some Georgia students are returning to online classes after spring break to mitigate Covid-19 spread

Atlanta Public Schools are hoping to mitigate spring break spikes of Covid-19 by temporarily returning to online learning.

In light of anticipated travel by many students and staff, the district will return to remote learning April 12-16, the week after their spring break, Superintendent Lisa Herring said in a memo to families Thursday.

Federal and state officials hope vaccines will be available to all adults May 1. But the spread of more transmissible variants has threatened attempts to reach herd immunity. And young people traveling for spring break could exacerbate the problem.

“It’s the perfect storm,” Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said last week.

For Gwinnett County Public Schools, Georgia’s largest school district, only students and staff who have traveled internationally will not be able to return to campus the week after their spring break.

Days will also be remote to give teachers and staff of Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County Schools more flexibility to receive their vaccinations.

At the university level, students at schools including Boston University, Florida State University, Ohio State University and State University of New York have had their spring breaks canceled all together.

“I have talked with countless students since August who have made tremendous sacrifices so that they can stay on campus and learn. Our students have done a remarkable job given the circumstances,” said SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras in a statement. “This aggressive strategy gives us the best chance to return our students once again to classrooms in early 2021.

The University of California, Davis still has a spring break on the calendar. But the school is offering $75 to 500 students to spend during the March 22-25 break in the Davis area, according to a Facebook post from the school.