Coffee County Schools reported 34 new COVID-19 cases last week

In a news release on Jan. 13, Coffee County Schools Superintendent Kevin Killingsworth revealed that the school system has seen an uptick of 34 new cases since returning from Christmas break.

Killingsworth said that number is almost three times as many as any previous week during the school year. Kinston saw two new faculty cases, New Brockton High had four new student cases and one faculty case, New Brockton Elementary had two new student cases and Zion Chapel Schools had 19 new student cases and six new faculty cases.

As a result of the high increase at Zion Chapel, the school system made the decision to switch to virtual learning through Jan. 20 for grades 7-12.

“While we continue to do our level best to keep students and faculty safe it is vital that students and faculty who are exhibiting symptoms or have been exposed to a known positive case, follow quarantine guidelines,” Killingsworth said. “My goal is for our students to remain in a classroom receiving face-to-face instruction with their teachers.

“The only way that we can continue to do so is for all protocols to be followed. I realize that following these protocols is wearing thin on the patience of most, but they must be adhered to in order to keep moving forward.”

According to Enterprise City Schools Superintendent Greg Faught, ECS had three new student cases and three employee cases reported since Jan. 12. The school system had 24 new cases the previous week. In total, ECS has seen 131 student cases and 130 employee cases since beginning school.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s school dashboard, Daleville City Schools saw less than five new cases in the past week, while Dale County Schools had 18 new cases and Elba City Schools had six new cases. Also, Dothan City Schools saw 21 new cases and Ozark City Schools saw an increase of 20 new cases.