GLADES COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — An elementary school in Glades County is shifting all of its fifth-grade classes to virtual learning due to what the district calls a large number of COVID cases and quarantined students.
Glades County Schools announced the move to virtual learning on Facebook Thursday evening. According to the announcement, virtual learning will start Monday, Aug. 23 for fifth-grade students at West Glades Elementary School. They are scheduled to return to in-person learning on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
“We apologize for any inconvenience that this might create for your families,” the district said. “It is very important for us to keep students as safe as possible.”
The district added that it has several prevention strategies in place to help prevent the spread of COVID like disinfecting classrooms, encouraging handwashing and social distancing.
“We are doing our best to stay in school but COVID-19 continues to circulate and is highly contagious,” the district said in its post. “Community transmission in Glades County has moved from substantial to high in the past few weeks.”
The post from the district did not say exactly how many students have tested positive for COVID, nor how many are quarantined.
As of 3 p.m. Thursday, Hillsborough County Schools is reporting 2,231 total cases of COVID in the school district. A total of 12,312 students and staff members – or 5.13% of the district – are required to isolated because they are either COVID positive or have been exposed to the virus, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Hillsborough voted Wednesday to approve a mask mandate in the district with a limited medical exemption for opt-out that parents could request