Mooresville Schools COVID Update: 52 Cases, 303 In Quarantine

MOORESVILLE, NC — The spread of COVID-19 in southern Iredell County has led to the quarantine of hundreds of students after dozens test positive for coronavirus in Mooresville schools, according to Mooresville Graded School District data.

As of Tuesday, Aug. 18, the school district reported 303 students in quarantine and at least 52 positive cases had been confirmed.

The news comes one day after Iredell County hospital officials reported thatunvaccinated COVID patients are filling up county hospital beds. Iredell Memorial Hospital in Statesville, for example, has experienced a 1,200 percent increase in COVID patients in the past three weeks. As of Tuesday afternoon, it reported more than 50 COVID patients, a dozen of whom were in the Intensive Care Unit.

"This pandemic is not over, and the public's help is needed in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 in our community," Iredell Health System said in a statement Tuesday that urged county residents to get vaccinated and wear a mask.

SEE ALSO: 'Pandemic Not Over': Unvaccinated Patients Fill Iredell Hospitals

Mooresville Graded School District's first day back to school on Aug. 2 made 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.

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 nine school facilities.

Here is a breakdown of individuals in quarantine per school as of Aug. 18, according to MGSD COVID-19 Dashboard:

• South Elementary — 22
• Rocky River Elementary — 27
• Park View Elementary — 17
• Mooresville Middle — 65
• Mooresville Intermediate — 11
• Mooresville High — 138
• East Mooresville Intermediate — 23

In the past week, Iredell County has reported 721 new COVID cases, representing a 12 percent increase, according to the CDC's COVID tracker. New hospitalizations for COVID illness rose 64 percent in the county in the past week.

Statewide, the number of COVID-19 cases rose by more than 5,2000 new cases Wednesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported. As of Aug. 18, at least one out of every four of the nearly 3,000 patients hospitalized in the state for COVID illness were in an intensive care unit, leaving about 13 percent of the state's staffed ICU beds available, according to DHHS data.

SEE ALSO:

• COVID Spread Prompts Masking Change In Mooresville Schools
• Back To School: 2021-22 Calendar For Mooresville, Iredell Schools
• Schools Should Urge Teachers, Students To Get Vaccinated: Cooper