Fulton County Schools will close school buildings and district offices starting at midnight “until further notice,” said Superintendent Mike Looney at an emergency meeting of the school board.
Earlier on Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp said school districts should consider shutting down buildings for two weeks — starting as "early as tomorrow."
The Fulton schools enrolls 94,000 students, which is 5% of the state’s 1.8 million students.
Looney said Friday will still be a work day for all district employees “as we determine how to best wind down operations in our school buildings and across district offices.”
He said they are still figuring out how to provide meals to students and families who need them.
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The district has had two teachers with confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. They both worked at Woodland Middle School.
The first fainted in class at Bear Creek Middle School on Friday, March 6. The other teacher was last in class on Monday, March 9.
These cases prompted the district to close all of its more than 100 schools Tuesday and Wednesday.
Parents scurried to figure out how to handle their children suddenly being out of a physical class.
MORE | Second Fulton teacher has coronavirus, Woodland will stay closed longer
READ | As coronavirus looms, Fulton decides to allow voting at senior homes
The Atlanta and Cobb County school districts announced Thursday they would also not have in-person classes starting Monday.
Despite at first saying they'd stay open, the University System of Georgia following Kemp's announcement suspended on-campus classes for two weeks.
All major in-season sports leagues — NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS — have suspended play. The NCAA's Final Four in Atlanta is no longer happening.
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Fulton County Schools emergency called board meeting - March 12 2020
Posted by Fulton County Schools on Thursday, March 12, 2020
Check back for more on this developing story.
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