Visitors Banned From DeKalb County Schools Indefinitely

DEKALB COUNTY, GA — No visitors are allowed in any DeKalb County School District building until further notice, district officials announced Monday.

The decision to continue the district's no-visitors policy from the 2020-21 school year is a result of rising COVID-19 cases in Georgia and DeKalb County, according to a news release. Visitors and volunteers will not be allowed in any building for the foreseeable future.

District officials said they will monitor conditions and data from the Georgia Department of Public Health, DeKalb County Board of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and decide when to allow visitors once again based on this information.

"It is our sincere hope that conditions will improve, and we will be able to reopen our doors and benefit from the value that our committed volunteers add to our schools and centers," the release said. "We appreciate each of our volunteers and community partners. In the interim, we invite you to help us identify opportunities for volunteers to support our school community virtually."

As of Tuesday, there have been 235 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the last two weeks in DeKalb County, according to GDPH data. Two weeks ago, that same number was 74, department health data shows.