8 Manatee public school students test positive for COVID. 6 of the cases were at one campus

Eight students — including six at Lakewood Ranch High School — have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Manatee County School District reported Wednesday. As a result, 43 people went into quarantine because they were directly exposed to one of the infected employees while at school.

The newest cases were reported at:

• Braden River Middle School, one positive student. The number of exposures was pending the results of contact tracing.
  
  
• Buffalo Creek Middle School, one positive student and 18 exposures.
• Lakewood Ranch High School, six positive students and 25 exposures.

As of Wednesday, the highest number of COVID-19 cases this semester — 23 each — have been reported at Buffalo Creek Middle School and Lakewood Ranch High School, followed by 21 each at Manatee High School and Parrish Community High School, 19 at Palmetto High School and 17 each at Moody Elementary School and Southeast High School.

The district has reported a total of 410 coronavirus infections and at least 5,600 quarantines this semester, which started Jan. 4. To read the number of cases and exposures at each campus, go to the school district’s online dashboard at manateeschools.net.

This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 6:42 AM.