More than 30,000 Mississippi students, teachers and staff were quarantined last week due to the COVID-19 coronavirus and more than 6,700 new cases in schools were found, the state reported Tuesday.

The Mississippi State Department of Health released its report on COVID-19’s impact on schools showing that 28,990 students were quarantined due to exposure last week along with 1,132 teachers and staff.

The state reported 5,763 new cases in students last week and another 945 new cases in teachers and staff. The total new cases in schools was 6,708, up approximately 23 percent from the prior week.

A total of 30,122 people were quarantined from schools last week. That’s up approximately 38 percent from the prior week when 21,797 students, teachers and staff were quarantined.

Although the health department requires schools to report their COVID numbers, a number of districts do not report, so the actual COVID impact on state schools is likely worse than the report indicates.

The state reported 386 outbreaks were identified in schools, up from 283 outbreaks the prior week, or more than a 38-percent growth.

For more on the state’s weekly reporting, visit: https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/14,0,420,972.html