School Employee Had Contact With Positive Coronavirus Case

HIRAM, GA — Paulding County School District officials notified the parents of students at McGarity Elementary School March 9 that while there are no cases of COVID-19 coronavirus at McGarity Elementary or any other Paulding County school, a McGarity employee had been informed that he or she was in contact with a case of novel coronavirus confirmed in an adjacent county.

The employee will self-quarantine for 14 days and will not be at school during that time.

"Out of an abundance of caution, once we were made aware that the employee had possibly been in contact with a potential case, custodial staff fumigated at McGarity on Sunday with an anti-viral disinfectant. Our school district remains in close contact with the Department of Public Health as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is monitoring this situation very closely. We will continue to follow the authorities’ recommendations on how to proceed and will keep you informed if there are developments that impact our school," wrote principal Karla Dodgen in a letter.