HALL COUNTY — The Hall County School District (HCSD) announced on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, that all students will be learning virtually due to the alarming spike in COVID-19 cases in the county.

The school system has released a YouTube video addressing the Spring semester and the high number of positive coronavirus cases in the county. The school district has been in close contact with the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and are very concerned about the numbers the hospital is seeing.

All students will be on the blended virtual model for the first week of the second semester.  HCSD says they will have additional information by Jan. 7 to make a decision about what they intend to do through the MLK holiday on Monday, Jan. 18.  They need additional time to get accurate numbers on those who are COVID positive for both students and staff.

Starting Tuesday, the school district will start delivering meals to students in need.

The Northeast Georgia Health System which operates four hospitals in North Georgia including Gainesville and Braselton says that they are at capacity due to the rapid spike in COVID cases in the area.

In a statement released recently, the hospital system says that they are facing difficult decisions and are struggling to keep up with the high number of patients needing care.

“We’re struggling to find staff and space to care for people, and our frontline workers are exhausted,” said Clifton Hastings, MD, Chief of Medical Staff for Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC). “If COVID cases continue to increase, we may be forced to start making decisions about who we can treat effectively and who we have to send elsewhere or turn away. That’s a decision no physician should have to make, and a situation no one in our community should have to face.”

— Staff Reports