The number of students under quarantine due to exposure to the coronavirus has nearly doubled at J.Z. George High School in the most recent data released by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
The school, which had reported last week that 24 students had been quarantined due to an exposure to the virus, has now seen 41 students under isolation with 13 testing positive since the start of school.
The Carroll County School District, which reopened for in-person classes two weeks ago, had previously conducted distance learning for two weeks because of an unspecified outbreak of the virus.
According to data released late last month by the state health department, 53 students in the school district, or about 6% of its student population, had quarantined due to exposure to the coronavirus.
The number had dropped to zero for the week ending Nov. 6 but has since risen over the last two weeks.
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday break, several schools in the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District were not able to report their numbers to the department.
Delta Streets Academy and Carroll Academy, which are part of the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools, again did not report their numbers.
The state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, had issued an order in August mandating the weekly reporting of COVID-19 data by all elementary and secondary schools, public and private; however, this is the ninth straight time both schools have not been listed.
According to the order, failure to comply is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in jail.
• Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. Twitter: @AdamBakst_GWCW
