Hoke County High School closes for more than a week after two staff members test positive for COVID

Hoke County High School closed on Thursday after two staff members tested positive for COVID-19. The campus shut down from Thursday until Sept. 28.

One of the staff members was in the building and was possibly contagious while students were also in the building. A spokesperson from the district said that they believe that the staff member had minimal contact with students.

The Hoke County Health Department recommended that the school close, according to school officials.

Education officials said that they wanted to prevent a cluster from forming on the campus, and the shutdown was to make sure students and staff at the school were comfortable and safe.

Currently in Hoke County Schools, high school students can choose to take all online classes or hybrid classes.

There are typically 2,000 students on campus at Hoke County High School. During the fall semester, half of those students opted for remote learning, according to a news release from the district.

The 1,000 students who are not doing full-time remote learning are divided into two groups. One group is on campus on Monday and Wednesday and the other group attends classes on Thursday and Friday.

There is no policy in the district that requires that schools shut down after staff members test positive, said Jodie Bryant, director of public relations at Hoke County Schools.

"It will be something that we look at on a case-by-case basis," Bryant said.

Since August 17, the school district has been holding a mix of in-person and online classes.

"We feel pretty confident that we can continue our schools on Plan B," she said.

No students have reported to test positive for COVID-19 as a result of the two staff members testing positive.