Classes at 2 Fort Mill schools will go online this week due to coronavirus outbreak
Two Fort Mill schools are moving all face-to-face students online this week after a spike in reported coronavirus cases among students and staff.
Fort Mill Elementary and Pleasant Knoll Middle schools will transition to a virtual model beginning this Monday through Friday, according to a release from the school district.
The elementary school has seen a rise in coronavirus cases and will move to a virtual model to help mitigate spread of the virus, the release said.
Based on the district’s COVID-19 dashboard, as of Friday, 33 students are quarantined and two are currently positive for the virus at Fort Mill Elementary School. Six staff members are quarantined and four are positive for the virus.
Pleasant Knoll Middle School has a high number of staff under COVID-19 quarantine, according to the release. Based on the district’s dashboard, as of Friday, seven staff members are quarantined and one is positive for the virus. Twelve students are quarantined and three are positive for the virus.
“The number of replacement staff needed to properly operate during the school day is beyond the threshold for safe school operations,” the release said.
On Sunday, York County added 138 confirmed coronavirus cases and six probable cases, marking the county’s 11th-highest case count, according to S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data. York County, with about 280,000 people, has reported 12,097 confirmed or probable cases since the pandemic started, according to DHEC. In the past two weeks, the county has added 2,236 new cases.
The county added five more confirmed coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, for a total of more than 150 deaths in the county since the pandemic started.
On Friday, state health officials announced that a young adult from York County had died as a result of the virus, marking the first in the county in that age bracket. DHEC considers anyone of ages 18-34 to be in that category.
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Classes at 2 Fort Mill schools will go online this week due to coronavirus outbreak."
