As schools formulate their answers to the question of what the 2020 academic year will look like amid the covid-19 pandemic, reports out of Southern states, particularly Georgia, might add an extra layer of consternation among parents, teachers and school officials.

The latest concerns a 7-year-old boy who became the youngest person in the state to die of the illness, according to a report from CNN.

The Chatham County boy reportedly had no underlying conditions.

“Every covid-19 death we report is tragic, but to lose someone so young is especially heartbreaking,” said Dr. Lawton Davis, Health Director for the Coastal Health District, according to CNN.

“We know that older individuals and those with underlying conditions are at higher risk of complications, but this is a disease everyone should take seriously,” he said.

Chatham County, according to the report, has 5,441 confirmed coronavirus cases and 74 deaths.

In neighboring Florida, CNN notes, at least seven minors have died of covid-19.

Elsewhere in Georgia, 260 employees in Georgia’s largest school district were barred this week from entering schools because of positive tests or suspected exposure within a day of teachers returning for in-person learning, the Washington Post reports.

Georgia has left school districts to formulate their own plans, the Post reports, but Texas mandates schools reopen with at least some in-person instruction within two months of the state’s usual start date, and Florida is requiring all schools to reopen classrooms while allowing parents to opt for online classes.

One teacher in Georgia resigned over being forced back into the classroom, according to Atlanta’s Fox 5 news station.

Ashley Newman, a Gwinnett County Schools educator, and more than 1,000 teachers were pushing to be allowed to work from home and had grown optimistic about those efforts. But teachers were denied that option, and the district rejected Newman’s leave request.

“Back in April, teachers were considered heroes,” Newman said. “But that messaging has changed. Now if you’re not willing to risk your life by going into a building unnecessarily, then you’re lazy.”

Meanwhile, at North Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga., two students were suspended over their sharing of images of students jammed together in a hallway, most of them not wearing masks, the Post reports.

A 15-year-old student in Georgia was suspended after posting a photo of a crowded hallway at her school on social media. Hannah Watters says many students were not wearing masks.

“I took it out of mostly concern and nervousness after seeing the first days of school.” pic.twitter.com/34edEBqTA1

— CNN (@CNN) August 7, 2020

Masks are a “personal choice” at the school where Hannah Watters, 15, shared a photo and received a five-day suspension for violating the student code of conduct, which bars social media use and using recording devices without permission at school, reports say.

According to the Post, an audio recording captures Principal Gabe Carmona warning students they face “consequences” for sharing similar images.

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