Which schools in Manatee County had a COVID-19 case? See the full list here

The School District of Manatee County has added another COVID-19 case to its public dashboard, while the Bradenton Herald verified a handful of cases that fell outside of the district’s reporting criteria.

Palmetto Elementary School, 1540 10th St. W., was recently added to Manatee’s dashboard. A school employee tested positive for COVID-19 and exposed three others, but according to the message received by families on Sunday evening, none of the exposures happened on campus.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the district had recorded 55 cases at 29 traditional schools since the start of classes on Aug. 17. Another 787 people were exposed to the positive cases, according to the dashboard, which is located at www.manateeschools.net.

The Bradenton Herald also verified two cases at Team Success, a public charter school in Bradenton, after obtaining a copy of the voicemails left on a parent’s phone. The date of each case was unclear, and the school’s chief executive officer, Armando Viota, has not responded to multiple phone calls and emails.

“Team Success has been notified that a student in middle school has tested positive for COVID-19,” one voicemail states. “Any parent or guardian of a student who was in direct contact with the student has been notified. Out of an abundance of caution, Team Success advised the exposed students to stay home and monitor for possible symptoms for the remainder of this week.”

The first voicemail said anyone exposed to the case could return to school on Sep. 7. The second voicemail notified parents about a third-grade student who tested positive for COVID-19, though it offered no return date for anyone who was exposed and quarantined.

“No other grade level or students were affected and it is safe for everyone else to attend school,” the message continues.

While the district recently started to report cases, exposures and the affected schools on its website, charter schools are responsible for tracking and reporting their own cases to the county health department. Some campuses, such as Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication, have readily verified cases when contacted by the Bradenton Herald.

Since the start of classes, the Bradenton Herald has verified two cases at Team Success and two cases at Rowlett’s elementary campus, along with one case at Parrish Charter Academy and one case at Manatee School For the Arts.

There are also times when a traditional public school is not added to the dashboard, according to district spokesman Mike Barber. While every case is different, he said, the district works with the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County and makes a decision about students or employees who test positive after not being on campus.

“They get a positive result but they haven’t been on our campuses in a number of days,” Barber said. “We do not count those as a confirmed case on campus because, from the information we have, they were not positive for COVID when they were last in school.”

Employees of Kinnan Elementary School, 3415 Tallevast Road in Sarasota, were notified about a student who tested positive on Friday. As of Tuesday afternoon, Kinnan Elementary had no cases on the public dashboard.

“Late this morning we were made aware that a student here at Kinnan has tested positive for COVID-19,” Assistant Principal Todd Blackmore said in the email. “Please know that this student has not been at school all this week and did not exhibit symptoms until this past weekend. Family was able to confirm the positive test result today. Members of this family were also tested, receiving negative results.”

“Based upon district guidelines and the timeframe of events, we do not believe that there is a direct exposure concern,” the email continues.

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. According to the dashboard, there were exposures in dozens of schools since mid-August:

• 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.
• Johnson K-8 — 10 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 11.
• 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 Elementary — three people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Sep. 14.
• 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.
• Tara Elementary — four people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 11.
• 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.

Symptoms of COVID-19 may include a fever of 100.4 or higher, a sore throat, a severe headache, an uncontrolled cough, shortness of breath, diarrhea, vomiting or abdominal pain.

To help curb the spread of COVID-19, the district is encouraging students and employees to stay home when they feel sick.

“We think that’s really helping to keep the numbers down,” Barber said on Tuesday.

This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 2:43 PM.