Schools around Rome and Floyd County have been in session for a little over a month now, after a five-month break from in-person learning because of the coronavirus pandemic.
As the curtain rose on the 2020-21 school year, administrators were prepared for any potential outbreaks of the virus. Dr. Gary Voccio, the Health Director of the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Northwest Health District, says that a number of outbreaks have occurred at schools in this region, to varying degrees. It has been a massive effort to keep up with the contacts of all those positive cases, he adds.
Dr. Voccio attests that all of the schools have been very careful to follow the COVID-19 guidelines of the DPH to include social distancing, mask wearing, and sanitization.
School administrators across Northwest Georgia have been able to pivot and make accommodations for their community’s safety in light of positive cases, with the guidance of the DPH, indicates Dr. Voccio.