Gwinnett County (Ga.) district says 260 employees are missing work because of coronavirus

The Gwinnett County (Ga.) school district says 260 employees have tested positive for the coronavirus or are in quarantine because of possible exposure as they prepare for the new school year.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that teachers in the 180,000-student school system began in-person pre-planning last week at the 141 facilities throughout the county. By the next day, about 260 employees had been excluded from work because of a positive case or contact with a case.

The number is fluid, says Gwinnett spokeswoman Sloan Roach, as new reports come in and others move out of quarantine after a period of time.

Gwinnett County has one of the highest rates of Covid-19 cases in Georgia. As of Sunday, there have been 17,781 positive cases in Gwinnett with 1,996 hospitalizations and 240 deaths.

In-person training and meetings are taking place without areas being wiped down or disinfected in between and masks aren’t being worn at all times, several teachers told the Journal-Constitution. Others said that their school still hadn’t received any hand sanitizer.