WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — A spokesperson for the Wake County Public School System confirmed Wednesday there have already been almost 150 positive cases of COVID-19 since classes began.

When students and teachers are at home, someone else has to be in the classroom.

That's where substitute teachers come in. A representative for an educational staffing agency said there are challenges with replacing absent educators on the fly.

Chris Zuber is a senior director of client services at Kelly Education who has seen the shift. Although Zuber doesn’t work with the WPCSS directly, he can relate to a lot of moving parts at one time.

Zuber said, "We don't really have as much advance notice of absences. Let’s say If I'm calling you and saying, ‘Hey we just found out about an absence and can you be at the school in an hour and a half?’ When you are kind of living in that world it certainly makes it more challenging for everyone."

Zuber said they work with neighboring Nash County and 20 systems in North Carolina.

During a stop at a pizzeria in Carrboro, which requires proof of vaccination for service, Governor Roy Cooper talked about COVID-19 cases in N.C. schools and why he feels in-person learning matters.

The governor said, “It is so important for our children to be in school in person. And that is one of the reasons why we are pushing vaccinations so much, because we want to keep them in school.”

In-person learning was kept to half the student population in class settings for most of last school year.

Now, the amount of students receiving teaching in the same physical setting is much higher.

The president of the Wake County chapter for the North Carolina Association of Educators said there are two periods in the school that worry teachers the most.

Kristin Beller said, "Our folks are really concerned about lunch and recess. Places where their students are able to take off their masks. No one is expecting children to eat with their masks on, and that is a period where if they don’t have enough distance, this is a space that is vulnerable."

Beller says the school system is doing all they can to keep proper protocols, like masking and social distancing, in place.