Manatee schools see spike in COVID-19 cases. Here is a full list of affected campuses

COVID-19 cases and exposures have more than tripled during the second semester in Manatee County schools.

Cases represent the students and district employees who tested positive for COVID-19, while a “direct exposure” means someone was in close contact with an infected person for at least 15 minutes. Both require the students and employees to quarantine at home.

In the first semester of the 2020-21 school year, there were 54 confirmed cases and 784 exposures during the first four weeks of school.

In the first four weeks of the current semester, which began in early January, there have been 180 cases and 2,534 exposures.

The Bradenton Herald spoke with district leaders about the rising cases on Wednesday afternoon. That evening, the school district sent a message to local families, acknowledging the increase and asking for support.

“That vast majority of cases coming onto our campuses are from outside of the school environment,” it read. “That being the case, the most important thing you can do to help us lower the number of cases on our campuses is to make sure you don’t send your child or children to school if they are sick, or if they are showing COVID-related symptoms.”

The message went on to list several common symptoms: coughing, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headaches, fevers or a new loss of taste or smell.

“If your child has any of these symptoms, or is sick in any way, PLEASE KEEP THEM HOME FROM SCHOOL,” the notice continues. “Keep your children home until their symptoms are gone and they are cleared by their school to return to campus.”

THE CAUSE OF RISING CASES

Most cases infiltrate Manatee County schools after starting in the community, where the positivity rate was often high, said Kevin Chapman, the director of strategic planning.

A “positivity rate” is the number of people who test positive for the first time divided by all the people who got tested that day, excluding people who previously tested positive, according to the state health department.

The daily positivity rate in Manatee County was 6.4 percent on Wednesday. In May, the World Health Organization recommended a goal of 5 percent or less.

“Because we have more students in school and the county’s positivity rate remains high, we’re going to see more cases,” Chapman said.

Students and district employees often self-report their test results. Other times, the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County notifies the school district of cases that involve local students.

Each case triggers a “contact tracing” investigation at the District Operations Center, where three full-time employees record COVID-19 cases and exposures. The command center, located at the district office in downtown Bradenton, opened with the return of students last August.

At that time, staff from the county health department worked alongside district employees to kick-start the operation. While the county employees have since returned to their own office, the district still communicates with health officials daily, Chapman explained.

He said that Bill Kelly, the director of risk management, oversees two other district employees who work in the center full time, while a handful of trained staff rotate through the office when needed.

When people are exposed to a COVID-19 case, meaning they stayed within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, they are forced to quarantine. District staff rely on seating charts, class schedules and other tools to identify anyone exposed to a positive case.

Those numbers are growing as students migrate from online learning to in-person classes, making social distancing harder.

According to the latest data available from the school district, 84 percent of students — or 41,544 people — were learning on campus. Another 15 percent — or 7,433 students — were still online, according to the Jan. 29 report.

The remaining 1 percent — equal to 719 students — were in other programs, such as home school or the hybrid schedule offered at some charter schools.

“It does mean more students are quarantined because there’s more students in the classroom,” Chapman said. “And, in some cases, because of athletics we’re sending groups of students home.”

While thousands of exposures and quarantines may be daunting, he said, the process was vital to prevent spread inside and outside of schools. He also maintained that COVID-19 cases were moving from the community to the schools, not vice versa.

His stance aligns with research conducted by three scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their report was published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, on Jan. 26.

“As many schools have reopened for in-person instruction in some parts of the U.S. as well as internationally, school-related cases of COVID-19 have been reported, but there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.”

However, the report continued, schools and communities had to invest in safety if students were to remain in the classroom. That meant continued use of masks, social distancing, quarantines and different learning options, including online and hybrid classes.

In Manatee County, the school board has continued to require masks in district buildings, while county commissioners lifted their mask requirement in September.

“Committing today to policies that prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission in communities and in schools will help ensure the future social and academic welfare of all students and their education,” the report concludes.

WHICH SCHOOLS HAVE THE MOST CASES?

As of Friday evening, the school district recorded 224 cases and at least 3,133 exposures in the second semester of the 2020-21 school year.

Manatee High School had 17 confirmed COVID-19 cases (16 students and one employee), along with 236 direct exposures — the most of any public school.

Parrish Community High School had the second-highest numbers with 15 infected students and 205 exposures.

Six schools had yet to record a case in the second semester: Haile Middle, Harllee Middle, McNeal Elementary, Mills Elementary, Myakka City Elementary and Palma Sola Elementary.

There were also two district offices with no cases: The School Support Center and the Wakeland Support Center.

According to the school district’s COVID-19 dashboard, an online spreadsheet updated each evening at manateeschools.net, there were steady cases and exposures between Jan. 4 and Friday:

• Abel Elementary: Two positive students and 11 exposures between reports on Jan. 26 and Feb. 5.
• Anna Maria Elementary: One positive student and 28 exposures reported on Feb. 5.
• Ballard Elementary: Three positive students and 37 exposures between reports on Jan. 19, Jan. 25 and Jan. 28.
• Bashaw Elementary: Five positive students, three positive employees and 116 exposures between reports on Jan. 11, Jan. 12, Jan. 13, Jan. 19, Jan. 21, Jan. 22 and Jan. 27.
• Bayshore Elementary: Two positive students, one positive employee and 67 exposures between reports on Jan. 15, Jan. 19 and Jan. 28.
• Bayshore High: Seven positive students and 51 exposures between reports on Jan. 11, Jan. 19, Jan. 28, Feb. 1 and Feb. 3.
• Blackburn Elementary: Three positive students and 67 exposures between reports on Jan. 27 and Feb. 2.
• Braden River Elementary: One positive student and 18 exposures reported on Jan. 25.
• Braden River High: 13 positive students and 179 exposures between reports on Jan. 7, Jan. 11, Jan. 15, Jan. 19, Jan. 22, Jan. 26 and Jan. 28.
• Braden River Middle: Two positive students and 18 exposures between reports on Jan. 12 and Jan. 19.
• Buffalo Creek Middle: Six positive students and 99 exposures between reports on Jan. 11, Jan. 12, Jan. 13, Jan. 19 and Jan. 29.
• Daughtrey Elementary: One positive employee and 20 exposures reported on Jan. 25.
• Freedom Elementary: Three positive students and 22 exposures between reports on Jan. 15, Jan. 21 and Feb. 2.
• Gullett Elementary: Two positive students, one positive employee and 31 exposures between reports on Jan. 25, Jan. 26 and Jan. 28.
• Harvey Elementary: One positive student and 22 exposures reported on Feb. 1.
• Horizons: One positive student and 17 exposures reported on Jan. 21.
• Jain Middle: One positive employee, four positive students and 115 exposures between reports on Jan. 15, Jan. 19, Jan. 20, Jan. 21 and Feb. 3.
• Johnson K-8: Four positive students and 16 exposures between reports on Jan. 7, Jan. 11, Jan. 15 and Jan. 25.
• King Middle: Two positive students and 23 exposures between reports on Jan. 20 and Jan. 25.
• Kinnan Elementary: Four positive students and 48 exposures between reports on Jan. 8, Jan. 12 and Feb. 3.
• Lakewood Ranch High: Seven positive students and 66 exposures between reports on Jan. 6, Jan. 11, Jan. 19, Jan. 25, Feb. 1, Feb. 2 and Feb. 5.
• Lee Middle: Four positive students and 37 exposures between reports on Jan. 11, Jan. 15, Jan. 28 and Feb. 1.
• Lincoln Memorial Academy: One positive employee and three exposures reported on Jan. 19.
• Manatee Elementary: One positive student and four exposures reported on Jan. 19.
• Manatee High: 16 positive students, one positive employee and 236 exposures between reports on Jan. 4, Jan. 5, Jan. 11, Jan. 12, Jan. 13, Jan. 15, Jan. 19, Jan. 25, Jan. 29, Feb. 1, Feb. 2 and Feb. 5.
• MTC - All Campuses: Three positive students and 34 exposures between reports on Jan. 15, Jan. 25 and Jan. 28.
• Matzke Support Center (MSC): Six positive employees and 91 exposures between reports on Jan. 5, Jan. 11, Jan. 20, Jan. 21, Jan. 25 and Jan. 27.
• Miller Elementary: Two positive students and 32 exposures between reports on Jan. 11 and Jan. 26.
• Moody Elementary: Nine positive students, one positive employee and 171 exposures between reports on Jan. 8, Jan. 12, Jan. 22, Jan. 29, Feb. 2 and Feb. 4.
• Nolan Middle: Eight positive students and 197 exposures between reports on Jan. 11, Jan. 15, Jan. 20, Jan. 21, Jan. 22, Jan. 25, Jan. 29 and Feb. 1.
• Oneco Elementary: Two positive students, one positive employee and 75 exposures between reports on Jan. 15, Feb. 1 and Feb. 5.
• Palm View K-8: Seven positive students, one positive employee and 104 exposures between reports on Jan. 12, Jan. 13, Jan. 14, Jan. 19, Jan. 20, Jan. 22, Jan. 25 and Feb. 3.
• Palmetto Elementary: One positive employee, four positive students and 60 exposures between reports on Jan. 12, Jan. 22, Jan. 27 and Jan. 29.
• Palmetto High: 10 positive students and 109 exposures between reports on Jan. 7, Jan. 15, Jan. 19, Jan. 21, Jan. 22, Jan. 25, Jan. 28, Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.
• Parrish Community High: 15 positive students and 205 exposures between reports on Jan. 12, Jan. 13, Jan. 15, Jan. 19, Jan. 20, Jan. 25, Jan. 28 and Feb. 2.
• Prine Elementary: Seven positive students, one positive employee and 148 exposures between reports on Jan. 11, Jan. 13, Jan. 19, Jan. 20 and Jan. 25.
• Professional Support Center: One positive student and one exposure reported on Feb. 1.
• Rogers-Garden Bullock Elementary: Three positive students, three positive employees and 70 exposures between reports on Jan. 15, Jan. 20, Jan. 26, Jan. 27 and Feb. 1.
• Samoset Elementary: Three positive employees and 13 exposures between reports on Jan. 8, Jan. 11 and Jan. 13.
• Sea Breeze Elementary: Five positive students and 96 exposures between reports on Jan. 12, Jan. 22, Jan. 25, Jan. 27 and Jan. 29.
• Southeast High: Nine positive students and 88 exposures between reports on Jan. 11, Jan. 15, Jan. 19, Jan. 25, Jan. 27 and Feb. 4.
• Stewart Elementary: One positive student and five exposures reported on Feb. 3.
• Sugg Middle: Three positive students, one positive employee and 46 exposures between reports on Jan. 12, Jan. 21, Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.
• Tara Elementary: Three positive students and 28 exposures between reports on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25.
• Tillman Elementary: One student and 22 exposures reported on Feb. 2.
• Williams Elementary: Two positive students, four positive employees and 128 exposures between reports on Jan. 11, Jan. 27, Feb. 1 and Feb. 5.
• Willis Elementary: Two positive students and 22 exposures between reports on Jan. 13 and Jan. 27.
• Witt Elementary: One positive employee, one positive student and 37 exposures reported on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.

District spokesman Mike Barber said local schools were doing their best to defend against COVID-19, which continued to spread in the community.

Manatee County recorded 29,230 cases and 506 deaths as of Friday afternoon, according to the state health department.

Despite the challenges, Barber said, classes will continue, students will advance to the next grade level and seniors will earn their high school diplomas.

“We think it’s pretty remarkable that we haven’t missed a single day of school since Aug. 10,” he said. “I think that’s a pretty amazing feat.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.