As teachers report to work this week at Georgia’s largest school district, the Gwinnett County Public Schools, 260 of them tested positive or reported exposure to the coronavirus, according to multiple reports.
Officials told CNN that most of the cases were likely through community spread.
"As of last Thursday, we had approximately 260 employees who had been excluded from work due to a positive case or contact with a case," GCPS spokeswoman Sloan Roach told CNN. "This number is fluid as we continue to have new reports and others who are returning to work," she added.
The district plans to reopen August 12 after shutting down in March. Nearly 160,000 students attend classes in Gwinnett County.
The area saw a rise in coronavirus cases in July, according to public health data. The state of Georgia has averaged over 3,000 new coronavirus cases per day in the month of July.
"Given the number of COVID cases in Gwinnett we would expect to see positives among our employees based on the community spread in our county," Roach told CNN.
