Classes will be empty today at Trion City Schools and Chattooga County Schools in  honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.   But Chattooga students will get an extra day at home tomorrow.

Chattooga County School Superintendent Jared Hosmer made the decision last week to have distance learning day on Tuesday to give students an extra day to social-distance and give staff more time to clean county school buildings after a wave of COVID-19 cases showed up in the school system last week.  Menlo Elementary School was especially hard hit from students and staff reporting COVID-19 infection.

Jeff Martin with the Chattooga County School System told WZQZ News that parents need to remember, if your child has a temperature, you need to keep them at home for 24-hours after the fever.  If a student has tested positive for COVID-19, they must quarantine for 5 days and then when they come back to school, they will be required to wear a mask for five days.

Trion Schools have also had an increase in COVID-19 cases.  Trion City Schools will return to class tomorrow, but school officials hope that the extra day off today will help stem the tide of COVID cases.