784 students and school employees quarantined since start of school in Manatee County

COVID-19 has forced 784 students and school employees to quarantine since the start of classes on Aug. 17, according to newly-released data from the School District of Manatee County.

Each person was “directly exposed” to one of the 54 COVID-19 cases identified in district buildings as of Friday evening. Of those cases, 20 were school employees and 34 were students, the district reported.

Exposures point to a breakdown in social distancing, one of the key safety measures in the fight against COVID-19. When people are exposed to COVID-19, meaning they stayed within six feet of a positive case for at least 15 minutes, the exposed people are forced to isolate for 14 days and monitor their symptoms.

In an email on Aug. 21, district spokesman Mike Barber said schools were urged to use social distancing or plastic barriers whenever possible. Other safety measures — masks, hand-washing, symptom checks and temperature screenings — have “significantly diminished the number of direct exposures” to each case, he continued.

Barber issued a new statement on Friday morning, contrasting the 770 exposures to the 34,000 people who visit district schools and offices. Thousands of employees report to work, and between the full-time and hybrid schedules, about 70 percent of district students attend in-person classes at some point during the week.

“We are in the midst of a global pandemic, but when you look at the big picture, I believe the numbers so far represent a careful and conscientious beginning to the school year,” Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said in a prepared statement.

Palmetto High School sent 112 people home for possible exposure to one employee with COVID-19 in late August. It was by far the greatest number of quarantines at a district school. In a message to families, the school cited a lack of seating charts in the affected classes.

“As a result, the Department of Health epidemiologist, working in conjunction with the District’s Operations Center, was unable to clearly identify those students who had Direct Exposure to the confirmed case. The majority of the students quarantined were sent home out of an extreme abundance of caution because the contact tracing could not formally exclude them from Direct Exposure.”

The district now provides information on COVID-19 cases, exposures and the affected schools on its website, www.manateeschools.net. Aside from the case at Palmetto High, the number of exposures ranged from zero to 50 in each case:

• Abel Elementary — 14 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 8.
• Ballard Elementary — 14 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 18.
• Ballard Elementary — 15 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Aug. 31.
• Bashaw Elementary — 25 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 9.
• Bayshore Elementary — three people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Aug. 20.
• Blackburn Elementary — 12 people quarantined after exposure to two students, Aug. 24.
• Braden River High — eight people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 4.
• Braden River High — nine people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 9.
• Braden River Middle — two people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 2.
• Braden River Middle — 13 people quarantined after exposure to two students, Sep. 8.
• Braden River Middle — two people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 10.
• Gullett Elementary — 16 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 25.
• Harvey Elementary — 50 people quarantined after exposure to two students, Sep. 2.
• Harvey Elementary — 25 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 8.
• Lakewood Ranch High — 23 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Aug. 31.
• Lee Middle School — two people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 4.
• Lincoln Memorial Academy — 27 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 21.
• Manatee High School — 29 quarantined after exposure to two students, Aug. 21.
• Manatee High School — 19 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 25.
• Manatee High School — 27 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 2.
• Manatee Technical College, all campuses — nine people quarantined after exposure to five employees, Aug. 19.
• Mills Elementary — 14 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 3.
• Moody Elementary — 32 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 21.
• Nolan Middle — 15 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 31.
• Nolan Middle — 30 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 1.
• Palma Sola Elementary — eight people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Aug. 25.
• Palma Sola Elementary — 14 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 26.
• Palmetto Elementary — two people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 25.
• Palmetto High — 37 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Aug. 27.
• Palmetto High — 112 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Aug. 31.
• Parrish Community High — one person quarantined after exposure to one positive student, Aug. 18.
• Parrish Community High — six people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 8.
• Prine Elementary — three people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 8.
• Samoset Elementary — 38 people quarantined after exposure to two students, Aug. 26.
• Southeast High — 18 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 4.
• Southeast High — four people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 8.
• Sugg Middle — no exposures to one positive student, Aug. 20.
• Tara Elementary — 11 people quarantined after exposure to two students, Aug. 19.
• Williams Elementary — two people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Aug. 18.
• Williams Elementary — 50 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 31.
• Williams Elementary — 21 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 4.
• Willis Elementary — eight people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 21.

The pandemic’s impact on local schools was previously unknown. Citing privacy concerns and, more recently, guidance from the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, district officials withheld COVID-19 data for nearly three weeks.

School board members and Manatee County residents called for more information, leading the district to upload case numbers to its website last week. The full report on exposures and quarantines appeared on the website Thursday evening.

In her prepared statement on Friday morning, Saunders said she was encouraged by the parents, students and teachers who continued to overcome challenges and support local education.

“One thing we have learned, though, is that we can never let our guard down,” she said. “We must all remain vigilant and committed to healthy practices so that our schools can continue to provide the educational experience our students need and deserve.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 12:27 PM.