Just days after some of Mississippi schools returned to class last week, more than 1,200 students and school staff were not in class after testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, the state reported Tuesday.

Nearly 5,000 students and staff were quarantined after exposure to someone with COVID-19, the state reported.

The Mississippi State Health Department released its latest school-by-school update of coronavirus cases Tuesday.

The report included the week of August 2 through August 6. Note that not all school districts had resumed class last week, some started the week prior and some districts that have resumed did not report their data to the state which may result in an underreported total number.

The state reported 69 outbreaks of COVID-19 for the week.

For the full month, the state reported 347 teachers and/or staff tested positive for the virus and 991 students did.

On Tuesday, Mississippi set a new record for the most new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period, recording 3,488 cases.

Mississippi has seen a steep rise in cases since early July.

Only 10 days into the month of August, Mississippi has already reported more new cases than any month this year except January and appears on track to eclipse January’s totals before the end of the month.

The state health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with other medical groups have recommended that school children should all be wearing face masks and social distancing as a way to limit the spread of the virus.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has said he’s opposed to such mandates and a number of districts in the state have opened without requiring masks, which have become a polarizing issue for many parents.