Lawrence switches 3 schools to virtual as COVID cases spike

Michael Wetzel, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·1 min read
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Aug. 25—MOULTON — Lawrence County Schools today switched three schools to online instruction until Sept. 7 as COVID-19 cases soared past last year's numbers, according to Superintendent Jon Bret Smith.

Hatton Elementary, Hatton High School and East Lawrence Elementary in Caddo will end in-person instruction until Sept. 7. The schools each have 15 to 20 positive cases with nearly 100 more students being sent home for close contact with the infected students, Smith said. He said East Lawrence Elementary had more than 100 students in close contact with infected students.

"We saw a spike in positives and cases started doubling," he said. "When a kid gets sick, we are seeing a number of kids in close contact getting infected. Last year, we might have had only three or four in close contact getting sick. Now about half are getting sick."

Health officials have said the delta variant of the coronavirus, now dominant throughout the state, is far more transmissible than variants that were common last school year and more readily infects children.

— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.