Washington, Aug 6 (IANS): More than 110 students have been ordered to quarantine at home for 14 days after six children and a school staffer tested COVID-19 positive in a school district in the US state of Mississippi.

Taylor Coombs, spokesperson for the Corinth School District, told CNN on Wednesday that a total of 116 students, considered to be in "close contact", were asked to quarantine, reports Xinhua news agency.

In a letter posted on Facebook on Wednesday, the Corinth School District told parents that an individual from Corinth Middle School tested positive as well as an employee at Corinth Elementary School.

The letter added that the school district has carried out contact tracing and is asking anyone who came in contact with the infected individuals to quarantine for 14 days.

Guidelines from the district says that all staff, parents and volunteers must wear a face covering in the school buildings, while teachers must wear a face covering in all common areas and during all student interactions.

In-person classes resumed in the district on July 27, according to the school calendar.

The student population in the district is 2,700.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has issued a mask mandate for the state.

After a recent surge, the state with a relatively low population now has 63,444 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the fifth-highest recorded infection count per 100,000 people, behind only Louisiana, Arizona, Florida and New York.

It also has the nation's highest test positivity rate, at a weekly average of 25.8 per cent as of Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The death toll currently stood at 1,804.