FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says he supports local school leaders who decide to begin the academic year with online instruction as a precaution against the coronavirus.
State health officials reported 700 new virus cases Tuesday, sharply higher than a day earlier, but Beshear says there are signs of a “general leveling off” in statewide infections.
Beshear said he's not surprised some school districts are opting for digital learning at the outset of the school year. He recently recommended that schools wait until at least the third week of August to resume in-person classes to help curb the virus’s spread.
Indiana school districts that returned to in-person classes in late July have seen several COVID-19 cases in students and staff. In southern Indiana, students at Pleasant Ridge Elementary, Rock Creek Community Academy, Charlestown High School and Lanesville High School are all quarantining after positive cases.
"You hope for the best but anticipate the worst," Lanesville Superintendent Steve Morris. "I think that was our attitude going in, that at some point in time there would be a student with a positive test result and you would have to deal with that. Certainly was not anticipating four within the first week of school but that's the situation."
Many Kentucky school districts have introduced at least partial NTI learning for the start of the school year.
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