Several high school students in Georgia tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a drive-through graduation parade

• The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia, told parents that “several” graduating seniors tested positive for COVID-19 after a May 17 drive-through graduation.
• The school did not disclose exactly how many students had tested positive for COVID-19.
• Some students reportedly attended the drive-through graduation ceremony in groups and were in close quarters with one another.
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Several high school students in Georgia tested positive for COVID-19 after participating in a drive-through graduation ceremony, school officials said in a letter to students’ families that was first reported by CNN.

The Lovett School in Atlanta Georgia did not disclose how many students had tested positive for COVID-19 after their drive-through graduation, but described the number as “several” in the letter from Head of School Meredyth Cole and Head Nurse Shana Horan.

“Unfortunately the infectious nature of the COVID-19 virus means that most communities will be touched at some point, and we recognize how hard separation and missed milestones have been on the emotional lives of our students,” they said in the letter. “Families of the students diagnosed with COVID-19 are working with the appropriate healthcare professionals and Departments of Health.”

The Lovett School, which is an independent, coeducational day school that teaches students kindergarten through 12th grade, closed its campus in mid-March to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to CNN.

The school postponed its traditional graduation ceremony to late July, but on May 17 held a drive-through parade to celebrate graduating seniors, CNN affiliate WSB reported. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, some students arrived in groups and were in close quarters with one another.

AJC reported that the school announced several students had tested positive for the virus after initially sending an email to parents about one student who had tested positive for COVID-19.

The student “was confined to his or her car while on campus,” but “later had company over for a graduation gathering, and then traveled out of town with friends,” school officials told AJC.

It remains unknown if the virus spread at the drive-through graduation or an off-campus event.

“The school has been made aware of several off-campus social gatherings but has no information on any private events,” a spokesperson for the school said in a statement to Insider. “Families of the graduates diagnosed with COVID-19 are working with the appropriate healthcare professionals and Departments of Health.”