Georgia high school where viral photos showed packed corridors of mask-less students switches to online-only classes after nine new cases of coronavirus in the first week back

A high school in Georgia that shot to national attention this week, after photos of the packed school corridors with mask-less students went viral, has announced that it is temporarily switching its lessons to online-only. 

North Paulding High School confirmed six new cases among students and three infections of staff members, less than a week after school resumed. 

On Sunday Brian Otott, Paulding County Schools Superintendent, said that the school would be closed on Monday and lessons would be online. 

In a letter to parents, Otott said Monday and Tuesday will be used to clean and disinfect the school.

North Paulding High School confirmed nine cases of COVID-19 this week, and will go online

Parents will learn Tuesday evening if in-person classes can resume later in the week.

‘Hopefully we can all agree that the health and safety of our students and staff takes precedence over any other considerations at this time,’ said Otott in his letter, which was obtained by Atlanta-area news outlets.

One of the students who took the viral photos, Hannah Watters, 15, was initially suspended over posting the images. 

The school later reversed its decision on Watters’ suspension.   

Hannah Watters photographed the corridors

‘This morning my school called and they have deleted my suspension,’ Watters said. 

‘To be 100 percent clear, I can go back to school on Monday. I couldn’t have done this without all the support, thank you.’ 

Watters had earlier said the school told her she was being suspended for violating the code of conduct by using a cellphone and social media in school hours and violating student privacy by photographing them. 

Following the publication of the photos, a whistleblower hotline has been created by a local representative to allow students and staff to raise concerns about the safety measures being taken in their schools. 

The 15-year-old tweeted on Friday morning that her suspension had been reversed

Georgia House Rep Beth Moore has called for students and staff to share their stories

Angie Franks told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that two of her nephews were among the six students to test positive at the school this week. 

One of the boys returned home from school Monday with no sense of smell and was immediately taken to be tested. 

His brother also began to display symptoms and they were confirmed with coronavirus Wednesday. 

They have since been quarantining at home but Franks voiced concern about the other students that may have exposed Monday. 

The letter sent by Principal Gabe Carmona to parents confirming the new cases 

The school has confirmed far more cases than any other in the district since July 1

‘They sat in class all day long with no masks and not social distancing,’ Franks said. ‘And I have no idea how many kids they came into contact with.’ 

She added that they had not been encouraged to wear masks in classrooms and hallways, and that the boys had not understood the gravity of the situation.  

It comes as WSB TV Atlanta reports that the school has confirmed 23 coronavirus cases since July 1, far more than any other schools in the district. 

There have been 53 cases reported since the start of July in Paulding County schools but the majority only have one confirmed case. 

Schools did not begin in-person tuition until August 3. 

In response to the viral images, Georgia State House Rep. Beth Moore established an anonymous whistleblower email account Friday for students, teachers and administrators to send pictures, videos and testimonials of the situation in their schools. 

She has since posted several worrying claims that one school county board has tested positive for coronavirus and that in another school, teachers have yet to be supplied with protective and cleaning equipment. 

‘This tweet has only been up for 1 hour & already I’ve received a disturbing tip of a county school board member testing positive, not telling anyone, & going to lunch at a restaurant a few days later,’ she wrote in a tweet Friday. 

‘It’s the same failure of leadership at the state & federal level.’

One teacher in Gwinnett claimed that teachers were forced into an in-person meeting, where not everyone wore masks and those who attempted to social distance were told to move closer. 

‘My principal is wonderful and I feel she is being pushed to do things that she knows aren’t right or feasible either,’ the teacher wrote. 

Another teacher from the same district claimed the school’s custodian was almost in tears telling teachers that they did not have enough cleaning supplies to give teachers for their classrooms. 

‘He said that if it is not provided soon, he will leave because he doesn’t want to feel responsible for people getting sick or God forbid – dying,’ they wrote. 

They added that teachers had not been told where to isolate students if they are confirmed to have coronavirus during school hours and that no extra custodial staff have been hired to assist with the extra cleaning.