Gov. Brian Kemp

ATLANTA — In an effort to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order today, (Mar. 26) that mandates all public elementary and secondary schools remain closed for in-person instruction through April 24.

Kemp said Thursday that students may be able to return to school on Monday, April 27.

“I am deeply grateful to State School Superintendent Richard Woods, the Georgia Department of Education, superintendents, and parents for keeping us informed and helping us make the right decision for our students,” Kemp said.

“Throughout this process, we will continue to seek the advice of public health officials, school leaders and families to ensure the health and safety of the educational community. As we approach April 24, 2020, we ask for continued patience and flexibility since circumstances may change, but we encourage families to stay strong and follow the guidance of federal, state and local leaders in the weeks ahead.”

As of Thursday, there were more than 1,500 COVID-19 cases reported in the state, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com