Pinellas County Schools are gearing up to welcome thousands more students back to classrooms in person in a couple weeks.

The district said nearly 13,000 students have indicated they want to return to face-to-face learning for the next quarter of the school year.

Doctors on the district's medical advisory committee said safety precautions have been working well.

"The proof really is in the pudding. We have not seen any major outbreaks. We have not seen any major secondary transmissions within our schools. It's safe to say, at this time, the schools are not driving the epidemic in Pinellas County," Pinellas County Health Department Director Dr. Ulyee Choe said.

The district plans to continue with its safety protocols, including keeping students "socially distanced", disinfecting classrooms and other areas, encouraging hand washing and requiring masks.

"In some ways, schools are one of the safer places to be right now," said Dr. Allison Messina of Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital.

Superintendent Michael Grego said he's encouraged by the number of students who want to return to brick and mortar schools.

"We do have the space. The biggest challenge will be scheduling," Grego said.

He said students who registered by the October 6th deadline have not been placed on waiting lists. Rather, district officials said some schools have collected names to get an idea of how many students will be returning.

Schools are now preparing schedules to move students back into classrooms with the fewest disruptions possible.

"In some cases, it's going to be as easy as placing them into a third grade seat or a fifth grade seat. And with others, it may mean the change of a schedule, but I'd say for the majority, it's going to be a transition back into the school with very little disruption," Grego said.

This will raise the number of students back in brick and mortar classrooms in Pinellas County to about 70%.

The district enrolls about 100,000 students.