Leflore County Elementary School will close its campus to students starting Friday after one person there tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday morning, the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District reported on its Facebook page.
The decision to shut down the campus was made due to mandated quarantining following contract tracing as well as the possibility of limited staff due to the quarantining, the school district said.
From Friday through next week, students will take their classes online. They will be allowed to return to the campus Sept. 13, according to the school district.
Leflore County Elementary is the third school in the district that has had to close its campus temporarily following an outbreak since the start of this school year.
The campuses of Greenwood and Leflore County high schools both shut down last month and transitioned to virtual learning for a time following outbreaks.
According to the most recent aggregate school COVID-19 report from the Mississippi State Department of Health, which was released Tuesday, 354 students within the school district — about 8% of the district’s total of about 4,318 students — have had to quarantine last week following exposure.
Twelve of those students attend Leflore County Elementary.
Following a revision in the Mississippi State Board of Education’s policy last month, the school district is working on a plan to offer virtual learning for students.
The district intends to start virtual learning Sept. 13, pending approval by the school board.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 662-581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
