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Many schools closed due to illness

Posted at 1:54 pm January 20, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A graph of COVID-19 case counts in the Knoxville-Knox County region through Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, by the Tennessee Department of Health.

Many schools in the area are closed this week due to illness, but Oak Ridge Schools have remained open.

Anderson County Schools were closed Wednesday and Thursday and will remain closed Friday “due to staffing concerns related to illness.”

Clinton City Schools were open Wednesday but closed Thursday, and they will remain closed Friday due to student illness.

Knox County Schools were also closed Wednesday and Thursday and will remain closed Friday “due to staffing challenges related to illness.” The school system cannot shift to virtual learning district-wide because of rules established by the Tennessee Board of Education, Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said in a letter to families. But individual schools may have to switch to virtual learning in the next several weeks depending upon absences, and the district could submit waiver applications to the Tennessee Department of Education.

“We recognize that any decision to close schools or implement virtual learning can be disruptive for families, and we will continue making every effort to provide timely notice of scheduling decisions,” Thomas said. “We are asking families to take precautions to prevent the spread of illness, including getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and flu, washing hands, and keeping students home when they are sick.”

Other schools closed in the area at least in part due to staffing challenges related to illness and/or more COVID-19 cases on Thursday and Friday are Roane County Schools, Loudon County Schools, and Campbell County Public Schools. Campbell County also cited road conditions.

Many schools were also closed Tuesday this week and some on Wednesday because of snow and ice from a winter storm on Sunday and Monday.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Schools, Bob Thomas, Campbell County Public Schools, Clinton City Schools, COVID-19, flu, illness, Knox County Schools, Loudon County Schools, Oak Ridge Schools, Roane County schools, virtual learning

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