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Troy City Schools will contract with an outside company to provide deep cleaning of the schools during Thanksgiving break.

The Board of Education met in a called meeting Thursday morning and approved an emergency action allowing Superintendent Cynthia Thomas to contract with a company for the deep cleaning to mitigate the potential of COVID-19.

Any costs incurred will be paid by CARES Act funding, Thomas said.

She said while the action was described as an “emergency action,” the urgency stems from the short bid window for securing a contractor, not from an emergency outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.

“We’re trying to get in and do this while the teachers and students are not there,” she said.

As of the Nov. 13 update, the Troy City Schools had 27 students quarantined, including nine positive student cases and one positive staff member.

The quarantined students included 10 at CHHS; three at CHMS; and 15 at TES. The confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 included one staff member at CHHS; seven students at CHHS; and two students at TES.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health 10 a.m. Thursday update, Pike County had added four cases overnight, bringing the total confirmed cases since March to 1,515 with 14 deaths.

Statewide, more than 223,485 cases have been reported, with more than 2,635 added on Thursday.