New COVID-19 cases reported in four Manatee County schools and two colleges

Four K-12 schools and two colleges reported new COVID-19 cases over the past several days. There have now been more than a dozen cases at Manatee County schools since the return of students on Aug. 17.

Blackburn Elementary School, 3904 17th St. E. in Palmetto, reported “a couple of cases of COVID-19” and “direct exposures” to the infected people, according to a message sent to parents on Monday.

District spokesman Mike Barber provided a copy of the message on Tuesday afternoon. The Bradenton Herald confirmed several other cases after obtaining the messages sent to employees and families.

Gullett Elementary School, 12125 44th Ave. E. in Bradenton, reported “a case of COVID-19” and “direct exposures” to the infected person. The message was sent to parents on Tuesday afternoon.

Manatee High School, 902 33rd St. Court W. in Bradenton, reported a case of COVID-19, “which has not been on our campus since last week,” according to Principal David Underhill’s message to employees and families. He also said there were direct exposures to the infected person.

It was the second time Underhill sent a COVID-19 notification in the past several days. Manatee High reported “a couple of cases of COVID-19” last weekend, along with the newest case on Tuesday.

“This is not the case I informed you about over the weekend,” Underhill said in his latest message.

Manatee School For the Arts, a public charter school in Palmetto, reported a COVID-19 case with no direct exposures on Monday evening.

“This notice is to inform you that we received word of a confirmed COVID case from an employee that has no direct contact with students, faculty, or staff members,” the school said in a message to families. “MSA has contacted the local health department and completed an intensive cleaning and disinfecting of all potentially affected areas.”

The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee also reported a case on Aug. 20. And as of Wednesday, the State College of Florida had a combined 21 cases between three campuses, according to its website:

• SCF Bradenton — three employees and 11 students tested positive.
• SCF Lakewood Ranch — one employee and one student tested positive.
• SCF Venice — one employee and four students tested positive.

“As the spread of COVID-19 continues throughout our community, we want to update you on the number of individuals from SCF who have self-reported that they have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been on campus during the exposure period,” the website states.

At least 14 Manatee County schools have reported COVID-19 cases since the start of school on Aug. 17:

• Ballard Elementary School.

• Tara Elementary School.

• Willis Elementary School.

• Moody Elementary School.

• Bayshore Elementary School.

• Blackburn Elementary School.

• Gullett Elementary School.

• W.D. Sugg Middle School (no reported exposures).

• Parrish Community High School.

• Manatee Technical College (Main Campus).

• Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication.

• Manatee High School (two incidents).

• Lincoln Memorial Academy.

• Manatee School For the Arts (no reported exposures).

The term “direct exposure” describes 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.

While the district tracks the number of cases and exposures in schools, it has stopped providing those numbers, making it hard to know the true impact of COVID-19 on local campuses.

In his most recent statement, Barber, the district spokesman, said Manatee is asking students and employees to stay home if they have COVID-19 symptoms. That includes a temperature of 100.4 or higher, along with difficulty breathing, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain or a severe headache.

“If a child must stay home for either of the reasons above, we asked the parents to please contact their school to find out how their children can keep up with their studies during the time they are out,” the statement said. “Any student absences due to those circumstances will be excused.”

This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 11:11 AM.