A school district in Virginia was scheduled to be closed Friday so that workers could deep clean schools and buses.
Students, teachers and staff received the day off from Bristol Virginia Public Schools so that its facilities could be sanitized, the Bristol Herald Courier reported.
The decision came after one school had an absence rate over 20% on Thursday, Superintendent Keith Perrigan told the newspaper. The average absence rate is about 5% to 9%, he said.
There was also a shortage of substitute teachers, Perrigan said.
The superintendent said the district was prepared to pay overtime to custodial workers if the deep cleaning extends into the weekend. Workers were expected to use heavy-duty sanitizing supplies and hone in on highly-touched areas such as handrails, door knobs and water fountains.
