• One week after a photo of a crowded hallway at North Paulding High School in Georgia went viral, six students and three staff members there have tested positive for the coronavirus. 
• The school is closed through at least Tuesday for a deep cleaning. More results are expected to come back from other students and faculty. 
• This comes as the school lifted the suspensions of two students who shared the now-viral images of the crowded hall.
• The issue of school re-openings has become a subject of national debate, as has the risk children pose when it comes to getting and spreading the virus. A recent report said that 97,000 children tested positive in the last two weeks of July, which is a 40% increase in child cases. 

Cases Confirmed at North Paulding

Six students and three staff members at North Paulding High School have tested positive for the coronavirus one week after viral photos showed students crowding in the hallways, many without face masks. 

Superintendent Brian Otott wrote a letter to parents at the school confirming that there would be no in-person learning on Monday or Tuesday as the school waits for more test results to come back and for the building to undergo a deep clean. Families will learn whether or not there are plans to resume in-person instruction on Tuesday night. 

“Please know that according to guidelines established by the school district, any students and staff who are confirmed cases of COVID-19, along with any identified close contacts, must quarantine for at least 14 days and cannot return to school until they have completed all the requirements of the DPH’s guidance for persons infected with COVID-19,” Otott continued in the letter. Right now, it is unclear exactly how many people will be required to do the 14-day quarantine. 

Angie Franks, the aunt of two students who tested positive at the school, told the Atlanta Constitution-Journal her nephews did not grasp the gravity of the virus and were not encouraged to wear masks. Paulding County leaders have previously stated they did not believe in enforcing a mask mandate. 

“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.”

Student Suspensions Lifted

The viral photo that showed students jammed in a hallway spread across the internet like wildfire. It resulted in the school announcing that anyone who shared photos or criticisms of the school could face disciplinary action. On Thursday, two students who initially shared the photos ended up being suspended, though those suspensions were eventually lifted.

“I took [the picture] out of mostly concern and nervousness after seeing the first days of school,” Hannah Watters, one of the suspended students, told CNN. 

“I’d like to say this is some good and necessary trouble, so I don’t regret posting this because it needed to be said,” she added. 

Her suspension, which was set for five days, ended Friday when the school called to tell her it was reversed and that her record would not reflect it. 

The Paulding County Board of Education tweeted a statement confirming that the other student’s suspension had been lifted as well. 

U.S. COVID-19 Cases in Children

This comes as the issue of reopening schools has sparked national debate. While many initially believed that kids are less likely to contract and spread the virus, recent reports indicate this may not be universally true. A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association says that cases in children in the United States could be on the rise. 

As of the end of July, 338,982 kids in the country had tested positive, totaling 8.8% of all COVID-19 cases. The report then noted that in the last two weeks of July, over 97,000 children tested positive for the virus, which is a 40% increase in child cases. 

This figure could be even higher, because the report relied on data reported by states, and Texas only reported age distribution in 8% of cases, while New York did not report it outside of New York City. Different states also used different definitions of children. 

While most states set the cutoff between 17 and 19-years-old, some states set it as young as 14. Florida, which is one of the country’s case leaders, was among those states. Other outliers included Alabama, which set their cutoff at 24, and was excluded from some figures in the report. 

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, this also has a much larger impact on non-white children. An August report noted that Latino and Black children were hospitalized at much higher rates than white children. 

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• A viral photo showing students at North Paulding High School in Georgia walking in a crowded hallway without masks has sparked widespread concerns about schools reopening safely.
• According to BuzzFeed News, there is at least one football player that has tested positive for the coronavirus, as well as several staff members.
• Students who choose to not go to school can be suspended or expelled. Additionally, students who share content criticizing the school can be punished as well, and two have already been suspended for sharing photos of crowded halls, according to BuzzFeed.
• This school is just one of many in Georgia making headlines for seeing positive COVID-19 cases. In Cherokee County, there are four schools with confirmed cases that have forced dozens of students to quarantine within their first week back.

Viral Photo in North Paulding High School

When North Paulding High School in Georgia opened back up on Monday, kids were crammed in the hallway between classes, shoulder to shoulder, many without masks.

A photo that captured one of these crowded halls quickly went viral, prompting widespread outrage as it highlighted just one of several concerns many have about schools reopening throughout the state.

Paulding County Schools Superintendent Brian Otott addressed the photo in a letter early this week, claiming that it lacked larger context. Masks are not mandatory at North Paulding, as the school district said that the choice to wear a mask is a personal one, and claim enforcing a mandate is not realistic. Otott also said that students are not passing one another in the hallway to transmit COVID-19.

Health experts, however, do not believe this is true. With such close proximity and a lack of masks, transmission in situations like this is still possible. The school’s first day also comes as both new cases and deaths in the state of Georgia are in their peak. So far, the state has had a total of 186,395 cases and 3,899 deaths.

If that photo did not spark enough concerns, there is also already at least one confirmed coronavirus case on North Paulding’s football team. According to BuzzFeed News, footballers at the school are not the only ones at risk.

Teachers told the outlet that there are positive cases among the staff, including an employee who came into contact with most teachers while they were symptomatic. Still, the school will not confirm cases among employees for privacy reasons. 

“That was exactly one week ago, so we are all waiting to see who gets sick next week,” one teacher told BuzzFeed.

Most who are nervous about attending school are left with essentially no other option than to face their fears and risk infection. Virtual learning was an option for students at North Paulding, but the limited slots filled up quickly. On top of this, BuzzFeed News learned from a set of parents who wanted to keep their son home upon seeing the photo, that any student who chooses to not attend school could face suspension or expulsion.

On top of this, the school made an announcement warning students that anyone who shared negative content about the school online would face disciplinary action. According to BuzzFeed News, two students have already been suspended for sharing now-viral photos of crowded halls.

Concerns Statewide

North Paulding is not the only school in the state making headlines. In Cherokee County, a second grader tested positive for the virus on the first day of school. Now, their class of 20 students will be quarantining for 14 days. 

On Wednesday, officials announced that three additional schools in the county had positive cases. Those cases involved a first grader, eighth grader, and Kindergarten teacher. Several students and staff at each of these schools now must undergo a two week quarantine as well.

Statewide, school officials are concerned about what the school year will look like.

“So long as COVID-19 runs rampant, there will be too many bodies in close quarters for us to co-exist in a traditional setting,” Dooly County Schools Superintendent Craig Lockhart telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We are not ready to return to in-person schooling and be highly confident that we can protect employees and students.”

But on the other side of this, there are parents and students eager to get back to in person classes, either because they trust their school district to handle things well, or because online learning at home just was not working well for them.

“There is a really strong case for trying to reopen schools because there are so many benefits, both for children, not only academic benefits but health and social-emotional health, and also for families, many of whom are trying to get back to work to restart the economy,”  Charlene Wong, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Duke School of Medicine also told the AJC.

Can Kids Spread the Virus?

Still, Wong believes that safety opening schools is complex and requires a multitude of safety measures. The risk is especially high because experts are still in the early stages of learning what role children play in spreading and getting this virus, especially in a crowded space like a school. Currently, most studies and research have not focused on children, so there is not enough data to prove anything just yet, despite the widespread belief that children are less likely to get and transmit the virus.

In fact, one case out of Georgia proves that idea wrong. One summer camp in Georgia was forced to close after there were 260 coronavirus cases on site, the majority of which came from people aged 17 and younger. 

Another study done in South Korea concluded that while children nine and under do not transmit the virus as frequently as adults, the risk of them doing so still exists. That study also claims that people between the ages 10 and 19 actually spread COVID-19 at the same rate as adults. 

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• New Jersey Police have charged 25-year-old Terri Thomas with second-degree aggravated assault for violently tossing a woman with a cane to the ground at a Staples store last Wednesday.
• Thomas attacked 54-year-old Margot Kagan for telling her to wear her face mask properly.
• Kagan, who police say had a liver transplant four months ago, was hospitalized and is recovering from a leg injury that required surgery as a result of the incident. 

The Incident

Police in New Jersey said Tuesday that they arrested and charged a woman caught on surveillance video attacking a fellow Staples customer who told her to correctly wear her mask. 

The dispute happened inside a Hackensack Staples store last Wednesday when 54-year-old Margot Kagan was using the copy machine. Kagan, who police said had a liver transplant four months ago, noticed 25-year-old Terri Thomas walk by with her mask below her mouth. 

Kagan told a local news station that she told Thomas, “You should really put a mask on,” and warned her that she was endangering everyone. However, the remarks made Thomas angry she reportedly began yelling.

The surveillance footage shows Thomas walking towards Kagan, who lifts her cane to keep Thomas away. Thomas then reaches for the cane and violently tosses Kagan to the ground.

Thomas walks out of view for a few seconds and when she returns, Kagan sticks her leg out to trip Thomas, but Thomas ultimately walks away unharmed and leaves the store. 

Injuries and Charges 

Kagan was hospitalized after the attack and police said she left with a fractured left tibia that required surgery. However, Kagan later told ABC 7 she suffered a broken knee and required a steel plate to be put in. She also claims she’s been told by doctors that she won’t be able to put weight on her leg for seven to 10 weeks. 

As far as Thomas, police have charged her with second-degree aggravated assault and she was released on a summons pending a court appearance on August 24. In New Jersey, the charge is punishable by 5-10 years in jail, and fines as high as $150,000.

Hackensack police are encouraging anyone who witnessed the crime or have any information to reach out to them. 

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