Gwinnett school district records more than 2,500 COVID cases in a week
Gwinnett County Public Schools’ latest COVID-19 reports show that last week the district reached its highest weekly case total for the 2021-2022 school year.
The district — the state’s largest — reported 2,528 cases: 2,176 students, 352 staff, according to data posted to its website.
That was the highest total last week of any metro Atlanta school district that posted COVID-19 data reports. (Cobb County Public Schools, the state’s second-largest district, has not posted any coronavirus data since Dec. 17.)
Last week was the district’s first full week of classes after winter break. On Jan. 6-7, the first two days of classes, there were 1,752 total cases.
Previously, the most cases that Gwinnett schools recorded in a single week were 1,159 in the first week of September.
Georgia has seen a surge of coronavirus cases in January. Gwinnett has held all of its classes in-person since winter break. Six other metro Atlanta districts held online classes to start the semester because of the amount of cases.
Since resuming in-person classes, districts across the region have reported challenges operating schools and keeping them open because of high staff absences.
About the Author
Josh Reyes covers Gwinnett County Public Schools for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A native of Virginia, he wrote about local government and public safety at the Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot. He graduated from Christopher Newport University with a B.A. in English.
