Atlanta Public Schools (APS) backtrack from the reopening plans of in-person learning until at least January 2021 following recent spike in novel coronavirus cases in the State of Georgia.
Instead, they will continue moving forward with the exiting virtual instructions, announced Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring on October 16.
In a statement the Superintendent said, the decision by APS comes after continued monitoring and tracking of Covid-19 health data that is trending unfavorably, consultation with public health officials and health care experts, and data secured to determine both feasibility and stakeholder feedback.
According to the release, Covid-19 data published by the Georgia Department of Public Health shows recent increases in new Covid-19 cases in the community, resulting in a current average that exceeds 130 new cases per 100,000 county residents.
Superintendent Herring in the statement said, ‘that number leaves us in substantial spread of COVID-19 and unable to reopen to in-person instruction.’
‘The decision to further delay the in-person opening of our schools was difficult. But after consulting with our teachers, staff, students, families, and public health officials, I decided this is the right approach at this time,’ added the official.
USA Covid-19 cases surpasses 8 million : The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the USA has surpassed 8 million with at least 218,097 deaths from the virus, according to data by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The JHU recorded the first case of coronavirus in the US on January 21.
According to an update forecast from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the USA death toll could top 389,000 by February 1.
That’s well in line with the latest ensemble forecast by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which shows that more than 20,000 Americans could die from the virus in just the next three weeks.
Globally the number of deaths from Covid-19 illness has surpassed 1.1 million on October 16, according to latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
The virus cases now worldwide are at least 39,081,143, as per the data.
