East Manatee elementary joins growing list of Manatee County schools with COVID-19

At least five Manatee County schools have now reported COVID-19 cases and campus exposures after the return of students on Monday.

Tara Elementary School had “a couple” cases of COVID-19, according to the message received by parents on Wednesday evening. The message, signed by Principal Laura Campbell, said there were also “direct exposures” to the infected person.

Manatee Technical College also had a confirmed COVID-19 case on its main campus, 6305 State Road 70 E. in Bradenton. There were “direct exposures” to the infected person, according to an email received by employees on Wednesday.

“Direct exposure” means someone had close and prolonged contact with an infected person, meaning less than six feet of separation for at least 15 minutes. The definition is used by Manatee schools and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Direct exposures point to a breakdown in social distancing, one of the key safety measures advertised by the school district. On a back-to-school fact sheet, the district said it would use “enhanced safety features” on campus, including “social distancing throughout school.”

“I think the best thing we can do is emphasize the mask protection and the social distancing,” Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said on Monday, addressing reporters on the first day of school.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, district employees and local families received notices about COVID-19 exposures at Ballard Elementary and Parrish Community High School, along with Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication, a public charter school.

It was clear that people were exposed to the COVID-19 cases at each school, but the true impact was not made publicly available. In past statements, district spokesman Mike Barber provided the number of people affected. He also noted when an infected or exposed person was a school employee.

When Samoset Elementary School had a case in early August, before the return of students, Barber said there was “one employee confirmed” and “six employees with direct exposure.”

District and school statements grew more vague after the first day of school on Monday. In messages to families on Tuesday afternoon, Ballard Elementary School and Parrish Community High School said there was “a case of COVID-19 associated with” their campuses.

Ballard Elementary said there were “direct exposures to the confirmed case,” while Parrish Community High said there was “minimal direct exposure” to the infected person. Neither statement included the number of people affected, and it was unclear if the affected people were employees or students.

Details were equally scarce in a statement by Chuck Fradley, the principal of Rowlett’s elementary campus in Bradenton. In the message, sent to families on Tuesday, the school said “any person who had contact with the confirmed case will be notified and will self-isolate.”

Fradley cited laws on student privacy and sensitive health information in his message, and the school district cited similar laws to withhold information in recent statements.

According to the messages received by families, three traditional schools with cases — Tara Elementary, Ballard Elementary and Parrish Community High — sanitized the affected areas of their campuses. The same was true for Manatee Technical College.

“Portions of the campus are being sanitized this evening with a special disinfectant that is being used in addition to the cleaning and sensitization done by the school’s custodial staff on a daily basis,” each school reported, using a standard message to families.

According to CDC guidelines on cleaning and disinfecting a building, the affected area should be closed off and disinfected 24 hours later. “If 24 hours is not feasible, wait as long as possible,” the agency recommended.

Rowlett, a public charter school, informed parents that certain areas of campus would be closed for several days.

“In reviewing this case, it has been determined that the confirmed case had limited exposure to distinct portions of our campus,” the message states “These areas will be closed for the next 2-5 days for intensive cleaning and disinfecting. The remainder of the campus will continue to go through cleaning and disinfecting measures regularly.”

In all cases, while COVID-19 made its way onto the campuses, portions of each building were temporarily closed and school resumed the following day.

“Our campus will be completely cleaned and prepared for school to resume for students and staff tomorrow morning,” Tara Elementary said in its message to families on Wednesday.

This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 1:50 PM.