LEXINGTON, S.C. — A Lexington County-based public charter school hopes to return to class on Monday after spending almost the entire week in virtual learning due to illness.
Gray Collegiate Academy announced on Monday that had been dealing with a high number of students who had "flu and other illnesses." As a result, the school decided to keep its roughly 600 students out of the classroom for the remainder of the week as crews worked in to clean the building.
The virtual schedule was planned to last until Friday with a return to in-person instruction the following week - though, in-season sports continued as scheduled.
The news out of Gray Collegiate Academy comes as the state braces for an unusual triple threat of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and coronavirus.
The latter has recently seen a drop across the state with roughly 3,459 cases reported in October and six deaths. However, State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said on Monday that influenza has begun to take hold rather early this season which could make it more severe.
Meanwhile, the state is also seeing a significant increase in RSV cases, leading one health expert with the Medical University of South Carolina, Dr. Elizabeth Mack, to say the state is "drowning" in the illness as of mid-October.
