As COVID-19 infiltrates another Manatee County school, others remain untouched

Three new COVID-19 cases led to 25 quarantines at Manatee County schools, according to the district’s update on Wednesday evening.

Witt Elementary School, 200 Rye Road E. in Bradenton, joined the list after one student tested positive for COVID-19, forcing 18 others to quarantine, according to a daily report from the school district.

Families received a message on Wednesday afternoon, notifying them of a case at Witt Elementary and 17 related exposures. The district later discovered an additional exposure and added it to the report, said Mike Barber, the district spokesman.

Parrish Community High School, 7505 Fort Hamer Road, reported its third case since the start of classes on Aug. 17. Wednesday’s update said that six people quarantined after being directly exposed to one student who tested positive.

Braden River High School, 6545 State Road 70 E. in Bradenton, reported one student with COVID-19 and one related quarantine. It was the third case discovered at Braden River High.

As of Wednesday, one month after the start of classes, Manatee schools had reported 62 cases affecting 30 campuses, while 26 schools and district offices had no reported COVID-19 cases.

Another 850 people were directly exposed to the confirmed cases, according to reports from the school district. “Direct exposure” means someone had close and prolonged contact with an infected person (less than six feet of separation for at least 15 minutes), and it requires the exposed student or employee to quarantine for 14 days.

There was a recent increase in the number of exposures recorded at Southeast High School. While the district reported one exposure to a single COVID-19 case on Tuesday, the dashboard changed one day later, reporting nine exposures to the infected employee.

“It’s an organic process,” Barber said. “The more you investigate the more you discover, and through further investigation, they came up with eight additional direct exposures.”

Between the start of classes on Aug. 17 and the update on Wednesday, the school district reported cases and exposures on the following campuses:

• Abel Elementary: 18 exposures and two positive employees between reports on Sep. 8 and Sep. 15.
• Ballard Elementary: 29 exposures, one positive student and one positive employee between reports on Aug. 18 and 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: 18 exposures and three positive students between reports on Sep. 4, Sep. 9 and Sep. 16.
• Braden River Middle: 17 exposures, one positive employee and three positive students between reports on Sep. 2, Sep. 8 and Sep. 10.
• Gullett Elementary: 16 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 25.
• Harvey Elementary: 100 exposures, one positive employee and three positive students between reports on Sep. 2, Sep. 8 and Sep. 15.
• Johnson K-8: Ten people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 11.
• Lakewood Ranch High: 23 people quarantined after exposure to one employee, Aug. 31.
• Lee Middle: 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: 75 exposures, three positive students and two positive employees between reports on Aug. 21, Aug. 25, Sep. 2 and Sep. 15.
• 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: 45 exposures, one positive student and one positive employee between reports on Aug. 31 and Sep. 1.
• Palma Sola Elementary: 22 exposures, one positive employee and one positive student between reports on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26.
• Palmetto Elementary: five exposures, one positive student and one positive employee between reports on Aug. 25 and Sep. 14.
• Palmetto High: 149 exposures and two positive employees between reports on Aug. 27 and Aug. 31.
• Parrish Community High: 13 exposures and three positive students between reports on Aug. 18, Sep. 8 and Sep. 16.
• 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: 31 exposures, one positive student and two positive employees between reports on Sep. 4, Sep. 8 and Sep. 15.
• Sugg Middle: no exposures to one positive student, Aug. 20.
• Tara Elementary: 15 exposures and three positive students between reports on Aug. 19 and Sep. 11.
• Williams Elementary: 73 exposures, two positive employees and one positive student between reports on Aug. 18, Aug. 31 and Sep. 4.
• Willis Elementary: eight people quarantined after exposure to one student, Aug. 21.
• Witt Elementary: 18 people quarantined after exposure to one student, Sep. 16.

The School District of Manatee County began to release exposure data last week. District officials shared a hopeful message on Sep. 11, contrasting the hundreds of exposures with the approximately 34,000 students and employees who returned to their classes and offices.

“I think the numbers show that our students, parents and employees are taking protective measures seriously – such as wearing masks, social distancing and washing your hands regularly,” Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said in a prepared statement.

This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 1:08 PM.