VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) — The entire Valdosta City School district was closed on Wednesday after third-hand contact with the coronavirus.
One parent said the extra precaution just goes to show how seriously people are taking the pandemic.
Eliza McCall has three children that go to Valdosta City Schools: Will, Kelly and Sam.
"I was glad to know that the school system was taking action and taking decisive action to make sure that they are protecting our kids," said McCall.
All of them were off on Wednesday after a coronavirus scare at a different elementary school.
"My kids are a little bit nervous," McCall explained. "I had my daughter asked me about it yesterday and I gave her the facts in an age-appropriate way."
The district says a Sallas-Mahone student-teacher was with family over the weekend who may have been exposed to COVID-19.
William Cason, the Valdosta City Schools Superintendent, said, "It was an indirect contact which means she may contact with her a family member who in turn made contact."
While none are showing symptoms, the family, including the student-teacher, are now under self-quarantine for two weeks.
In the mean time, the district says they're not taking any chances.
Crews spent Wednesday spraying all 10 schools from top to bottom with a sanitizing solution approved by CDC. They also sprayed the buses and wiped down all door knobs, handles, and seats.
Cason says even though Public Health calls the situation "low risk," it's still a risk.
One they don't want to take with their students.
"We cannot say 100 percent," said Cason. "But what we can say is that we're doing everything possible to ensure that the schools are safe based on the guides that we received from the CDC and department of public health asked how to disinfect."
"I'm confident that they have done a wonderful job making sure that everything is disinfected and cleaned and it should be safe to go back to school tomorrow," McCall said.
