ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — All Orangeburg County schools will go virtual on Thursday and Friday, according to a post on the district's website.
"In the last few hours, we’ve had a number of schools report nearly 50 percent of their student bodies are impacted, and absence data for today [Tuesday] showed student absences for isolations and quarantines related to COVID-19 surpassed 1,000," the statement said.
"After consulting with health authorities, our school board, and State Department of Education about the positive cases and quarantine numbers we are experiencing, administration has made the decision to transition all students, teachers and staff to a 100% virtual learning model for Thursday, January 13, and Friday, January 14," the statement went on to say.
The move comes after students from Edisto Primary, Carver-Edisto Middle, Edisto High, and Howard Middle schools were transitioned to virtual learning on Monday as a result of high numbers of employee isolations and quarantines.
Wednesday, January 12, will be a regular school day for all staff and students who haven’t already transitioned to virtual learning. Teachers, staff and students will have Wednesday to gather any materials that they will need for virtual learning to finish out the week.
Following Monday’s Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, the district will transition back to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 18.