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Cabarrus Co. moves to ‘Plan B’ days after several positive virus tests at area high school

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Families in Cabarrus County woke up Monday and prepared to send their children back to school for in-person learning. The county is planning to move into “Plan B” Monday, which means sending some students back into schools for at least part of the week.

Students have been learning remotely since the start of the school year. Now, students will alternate days and everyone will learn remotely on Fridays.

The return to school comes just a few days after several people tested positive for COVID-19 at Northwest Cabarrus High School. The district would not say how many people tested positive or if they were students or staff members.

The school district said it is contacting people who have been in close contact with anyone who was infected.

Last week, Cabarrus County community members addressed the school board, citing concerns for the health of teachers as well as their own children when school reopens. They said the district universally denied requests to accommodate teachers with serious health concerns.

Channel 9 asked the district how many teachers were given accommodations but have not heard back.

As students head back to the classroom to learn in-person, they will be forced to juggle new guidelines to combat COVID-19.

They will see social distancing signs when they walk through the doors Monday morning. In addition, the school district purchased masks for every student and there is plenty of hand sanitizer to go around.

Even though employees have been the only ones on campus, the district said the cleaning at all schools has been thorough.

The district is also ending its school bus WiFi service, which means families who don’t have Internet service will have to find public service access somewhere else.

School leaders said they have been preparing for months to make this a safe experience for both students and faculty.