Mooresville Schools Quarantine 261 For Possible COVID Exposure

MOORESVILLE, NC — The first week of the new school year is off to a rocky start in Mooresville, where the spread of COVID-19 led to two dozen positive cases of COVID-19 reported in city schools and more than 250 in quarantine, according to Mooresville Graded School District data.

As of Tuesday, Aug. 10, the school district reported 261 students in quarantine and at least 24 positive cases had been confirmed. The numbers reflects a sharp rise since Friday, Aug. 6, when the school district reported 88 individuals in quarantine and nine positive cases.

Mooresville Graded School District's first day back to school on Aug. 2 makes it one of the first school districts in the Charlotte metro region to resume classes for a new academic year at a time when school districts across the state and country are grappling with the feasibility of masking mandates.

SEE ALSO: COVID Spread Prompts Masking Change In Mooresville Schools

Late last month, MGSD leaders voted to make masking optional for students and teachers when classes resumed Aug. 2, saying that enforcing a mandatory mask policy would be difficult to enforce and disruptive to learning. The decision countered guidance issued by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling for mandatory face coverings in all K-12 schools.

Four days into the new school year, however, the school district abruptly called for immediate universal masking in all school district buildings beginning Aug. 6 due to COVID spread among the district's seven schools.

"In the first four days of school, we have quarantined over 80 students, including an entire classroom," MGSD Superintendent Stephen Mauney said in a message to school families announcing the policy change. "If required masking were in place during the first four days, our quarantine number would have been less than 10 students total. This data point itself shows us that we can keep more kids in school when we all wear masks."

SEE ALSO: Schools Should Urge Teachers, Students To Get Vaccinated: Cooper

Mauney said the decision to require masking in school facilities was made through consultation with the Iredell County Health Department.

"Over the last two weeks, Iredell County has seen significant increases in our percent of COVID positive tests, our number of new COVID cases, and our number of hospitalizations due to COVID," he said. "As a result of these rapidly increasing numbers, and from discussions with our local health department, MGSD will follow our plan to require all students, staff, and visitors to wear a face covering while inside our facilities or on our school buses."

Here is a breakdown of individuals in quarantine per school as of Aug. 10, according to MGSD COVID-19 Dashboard:

• South Elementary — 16
• Rocky River Elementary — 36
• Park View Elementary — 4
• Mooresville Middle — 68
• Mooresville Intermediate — 15
• Mooresville High — 115
• East Mooresville Intermediate — 7

In the past week, Iredell County has reported 403 new COVID cases, representing a 52 percent increase, according to the CDC's COVID tracker. New hospitalizations for COVID illness rose 45 percent in the county in the past week.

Statewide, the number of COVID-19 cases rose by nearly 3,000 new cases Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported. As of Aug. 10, at least one out of every four of the 2,179 patients hospitalized in the state for COVID illness were in an intensive care unit, leaving 17 percent of the state's staffed ICU beds available, according to DHHS data.

SEE ALSO:

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