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After all the back to school shopping and preparation, students will gather inside classrooms again on Friday all across Troup County.

COVID-19, while not as prevalent in conversation as it was the last two school years, continues to circulate, and the Troup County School System continues to practice health guidelines to keep students and employees safe.

Irisha Goodman, public relations director for TCSS, said if a student tests positive for COVID-19, they will need to quarantine for five days. After five days, the student can return to school with a negative test or if their symptoms have subsided. However, a mask will be highly recommended — not required — for five additional days after returning to school.

When a school reaches a point where 1% of the student body is positive for COVID-19, masks will again be highly recommended. In March, Governor Kemp signed legislation that allowed parents to opt out of school mask mandates.

At of time of publishing, there are over 80 students participating in virtual schooling this year.

As a whole, Troup County had recorded 325 known cases of COVID-19 over the last two weeks, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. However, many at-home test positives are not reported to DPH.