Manatee School District announces new COVID-19 testing site as case count grows
Manatee County schools have a new way to track and fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As of Thursday evening, the school district had reported 2,395 Covid cases since the start of classes last month. And with help from a new testing site for students and school employees, the district hopes to catch new cases before they infiltrate local campuses.
The testing site at John H. Marble Park, 3675 53rd Ave. E. in Bradenton, is also open to Manatee County government employees, according to an announcement from the school district.
The site opened Tuesday and will operate from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
Along with helping to catch cases before they enter local schools, the testing site also helps students return to school after they go into quarantine for an exposure
An exposure means someone was near an infected person for at least 15 minutes. And as of Thursday, more than 4,150 people have gone into quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 cases in public schools and district offices, according to data from the school district.
Students in quarantine can return to school “on the fifth day or later” if they have no symptoms, along with a negative result from an approved COVID-19 test, the district reported.
Starting last Wednesday, the school district also said it would only accept the Ellume Home Test or any PCR test from a health-care provider or county testing site.
The change followed new guidance from the Florida Department of Health.
The latest Covid numbers
Of the 2,395 infected people who entered a school or district office between Aug. 10 and Thursday, 2,091 were students and 304 were employees, according to an online dashboard.
The dashboard updates every evening with new COVID-19 cases in the school district. As of Thursday, the sites with the most confirmed cases were:
- Palmetto High School with 155 cases.
- Parrish Community High School with 133 cases.
- Lakewood Ranch High School with 109 cases.
- Braden River High School with 108 cases.
- Southeast High School with 106 cases.
- Buffalo Creek Middle School with 102 cases.
- Manatee High School with 83 cases.
- Bayshore High School with 81 cases.
- Mills Elementary School with 78 cases.
- Nolan Middle School with 67 cases.
To see a full list of COVID-19 cases at each traditional public school, visit the district website at manateeschools.net/covidDB.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 5:20 PM.