US schools reopen in virus hotspots

Undeterred by the coronavirus, schools in several US states have reopened for in-person classes — but some have already been hit by large quarantines of students and staff following fresh outbreaks.

In Mississippi — the state with the country’s highest positivity rate at 22 percent of everyone tested, sick or otherwise — the Corinth School District has so far seen eight confirmed cases across several schools, according to officials.

As a result, over 100 people who came into close contact with them have been asked to quarantine, swiftly disrupting local authorities’ plans for a return to normal.

The city of Corinth is located in Alcorn County where positivity rates are 25 percent and ICUs are full, according to the tracking site CovidActNow.

Health experts say that if the proportion of positive tests in a given location is above five percent, the virus is spreading rampantly.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves told Fox News the quarantine was in fact evidence things were working as they should.

“Those who want to attack everyone look at that as a negative, I actually look at it as a positive,” he said.

“We’ve identified positive cases, we’ve contract traced those back and we’re trying to protect those kids.” (AFP | Issam Ahmed)

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