Six Manatee public school students catch COVID-19. Half of them go to the same school

Six students in the Manatee County School District have newly tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, at least 38 people at four campuses had to quarantine because they were exposed to the students.

Half of the new cases were at one school, Palmetto High School. Eleven people on campus had to go into quarantine, the school district said Friday.

According to Friday’s update from the school district, the other cases and quarantines were at:

• Bayshore Elementary School, one positive student and 19 exposures.
• Braden River Elementary School, one positive student and seven exposures.
• Southeast High School, one positive student and one exposure.

As of Friday night, the district recorded a total of 575 cases and at least 7,393 exposures at local schools and district offices in the second semester, which began Jan. 4.

Lakewood Ranch High recorded a total of 45 cases after the latest update, the most of any school in the current semester. Manatee High had the second-highest count with 37 cases, followed by Palmetto High School, with 33. and Buffalo Creek Middle School, 28. Among elementary schools, Moody Elementary had the most cases — 18.

There were 419 cases recorded in the district during the first semester of the current school year.

To see how many cases have been reported at each campus, visit the district’s online dashboard.

This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 5:17 PM.