Clayton County elementary school goes virtual for rest of month due to spike in COVID-19 cases

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County elementary school will go back to virtual learning due to increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Church Elementary School in Riverdale will be virtual through the end of the month, the school district announced Wednesday.

Channel 2′s Tom Jones was in Riverdale, where he learned the outbreak impacted more than half the staff.

Parents lined up on Thursday to pick up laptops for their children.

“It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s just one of those things where it’s like, that’s just the way it is now,” parent Valerie Hurston said. “There’s nothing we can do about it.”

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The Clayton County School District reported 158 new cases of COVID-19 last week among students and staff, but didn’t break them down by school. The school year started on Aug. 2.

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Kemp Primary School in Hampton also announced students would be virtual for the remainder of the week.

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Last week, Pointe South Middle School and North Clayton High School reverted to virtual learning for three days.

It’s unclear why some schools are moving to virtual learning longer than others.

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