For second day in a row, same Manatee County school leads in new COVID cases in district

Seven students — including six at Lakewood Ranch High School — and a school district employee have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Manatee County School District reported Thursday. As a result, 71 people went into quarantine because they were directly exposed to one of the infected employees while at school.

The newest cases were reported at:

• Buffalo Creek Middle School, one positive student and 10 exposures.
• Lakewood Ranch High School, six positive students and 59 exposures.
• Palmetto Elementary School, one positive employee and two exposures.

As of Thursday Lakewood Ranch High School has reported 29 coronavirus infections — the highest number among school district campuses — since the start of the second semester on Jan. 4. Sixteen of the cases have been reported this week.

Lakewood Ranch High is followed by Buffalo Creek Middle, with 24 cases; Manatee High and Parrish Community High, with 21 each; and Palmetto High, Moody Elementary and Southeast High, with 17 each.

The district has reported a total of 418 coronavirus infections and at least 5,671 quarantines this semester. To read the number of cases and exposures at each campus, go to the school district’s online dashboard at manateeschools.net.