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4 School Districts In Georgia Shut Down In-Person Learning

(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Abbi Clifton Contributor
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Four Georgia school districts have shut down in-person learning due to increases in COVID-19 infections.

Macon County closed Wednesday, becoming the fourth district to close. Taliaferro, Glascock, and Talbot counties have also shut down schools due to COVID-19, according to Fox News.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 25: Goolsby Elementary School third grader Ava Dweck, 9, takes an online class at a friend's home during the first week of distance learning for the Clark County School District amid the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on August 25, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CCSD, the fifth-largest school district in the United States with more than 315,000 students, decided to start the school year with a full-time distance education instructional model as part of its Reopening Our Schools Plan due to health and safety concerns over the pandemic. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 25: Goolsby Elementary School third grader Ava Dweck, 9, takes an online class at a friend’s home during the first week of distance learning for the Clark County School District amid the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on August 25, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Talbot County had to transition to online learning after 11 students contracted COVID-19, according to WTVM.

“The difference now in this outbreak that we see than the outbreak that happened last school year is that this seems to be more centered on kids… rather than adults so that scares me to death,” Talbot County school district’s superintendent Dr. James Catrett said.

Talbot school district emphasized their dedication to keeping children safe. “At this stage of the game, first week of school, we hated that it shut down but again, safety is our number one issue,” Catrett told WRBL News.

These closings come as Georgia’s confirmed positive COVID-19 cases total over 4,300. Republican Gov. of Georgia Brian Kemp does not plan to mandate masks or vaccinations, reports WJBF. (RELATED: Chicago Teacher’s Union Says Delta Variant Could Derail Plans To Return To School In-Person)

Georgia’s policy is in contrast to California’s recent statewide vaccine or COVID-19 test mandate for all school employees.