LOCAL

Oak Grove Middle School third Lamar school to go virtual amid COVID outbreaks

Laurel Thrailkill
Hattiesburg American

Less than two weeks after classes began, Oak Grove Middle School switched to virtual learning Tuesday amid COVID-19 outbreaks.

The school will be virtual until Aug. 16. It is the third school in Lamar County School District to move to virtual learning.

After a week of class with no mask mandate in place, Oak Grove and Purvis high schools went virtual Monday. The district also announced Friday that masks were being required in all LCSD schools until at least Aug. 15.

A Friday email message from LCSD to parents said Oak Grove and Purvis high school students would attend classes virtually with in-person classes resuming Aug. 16.

All other LCSD campuses are continuing face-to-face instruction.

LCSD Superintendent Steven Hampton wasn't immediately available for comment Tuesday.

However, he told WDAM on Monday that "this is not a punishment, this is all for the safety of their children also our staff.

"We have 10,600 students in this district, and we want to make sure that we keep them all safe,” Hampton said.

“We have half of our bus drivers in the Lumberton area that are out due to quarantine and positive cases. We have a number in our Purvis and Oak Grove area that are being out because of quarantine, and that’s just bus drivers." he said. "We also have cafeteria workers and teachers who are testing positive."

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Since classes began at Oak Grove schools on July 22, at least 14 staff and faculty members and 73 students have tested positive for COVID-19 as of July 30, the latest figures available. At least 23 staff or faculty members and 340 students are under quarantine. Oak Grove schools include Oak Grove Lower Elementary, Oak Grove Primary, Oak Grove Upper Elementary, Oak Grove Middle School and Oak Grove High School.

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At least 608 students were quarantined across all LCSD schools as of Friday. The number of students quarantined broken down by community is as follows:

  • Lumberton: 25
  • Purvis: 97
  • Baxterville: 2
  • Oak Grove: 340
  • Sumrall: 138
  • Other sites: 6

The district's safe return plan was updated Saturday.

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"In the event of unplanned/unforeseen circumstances, LCSD may opt to utilize designated school-wide or district-wide virtual learning days throughout the school year," the plan states.

This story may update.

Contact reporter Laurel Thrailkill at lthrailkill@gannett.com or on Twitter.