Dozens of COVID cases reported among Manatee County students and district employees

The Manatee County School District has recorded 33 cases of COVID-19 among students and employees over the past two weeks, just before the start of classes.

In response to an inquiry from the Bradenton Herald, the district provided a breakdown of cases from July 22 to Thursday. The report shows 16 cases among students and 17 among employees — all self-reported to the district during summer break.

Some infected students and employees discovered their COVID-positive results after attending summer school or another school-related activity. But it was also likely that some employees reported their infection and never set foot in a school.

The district tallied those reports as well, district spokesman Mike Barber said.

“I can’t verify that all of these people have actually been on our campuses,” he said. “But it is a reflection that cases are out there.”

Manatee High School — where seven infected students self-reported over the two weeks — had the highest number of COVID-19 cases on the list.

At least four of those students took part in Manatee High’s marching band, according to a notice that band director Carlos Galletti sent to parents and students on Thursday, informing them of the positive cases.

“Our students are back on campus and they’re practicing for fall sports,” Barber said on Friday, referencing the district’s summer activities. “That’s a pretty significant number of students. But you look at the numbers right now, just based on the last two weeks, with the exception of Manatee High, it’s been pretty small and spread out.”

Cases Among Students

Willis Elementary: 3 positive students.

Buffalo Creek Middle: 1 positive student.

Manatee High: 7 positive students.

Parrish High: 1 positive student.

Palmetto High: 1 positive student.

Palmetto High: 3 positive students.

(It was not immediately clear why Palmetto High was listed twice with different case counts.)

Cases Among District Employees

Braden River Elementary: 1 positive employee.

Moody Elementary: 1 positive employee.

Palm View Elementary: 1 positive employee.

Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary: 1 positive employee.

Williams Elementary: 1 positive employee.

Buffalo Creek Middle: 1 positive employee.

Parrish High: 1 positive employee.

Manatee High: 2 positive employees.

Harllee/Sable: 2 positive employees.

Horizons: 1 positive employee.

Manatee Technical Center (MTC): 1 positive employee.

Matzke Support Complex: 1 positive employee.

Professional Support Center: 2 positive employees.

Port Manatee Jail (an alternative education site): 1 positive employee.

The school district launched its District Operations Center last year to track COVID-19 cases and report incidents to the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County. The district, Barber said, plans to reopen the center when students return on Tuesday.

Up to now, all students and employees self-reported their cases during the summer. When the DOC reopens on Tuesday, the district — along with two employees from the county health department — will begin tracking and reporting school cases to the community, Barber said.

“We’ve got almost a year and a half of experience dealing with this,” Barber said. “One thing we’ve shown over that time period is the ability to be flexible. And I’m not just talking about the school district, but our students and parents as well. We’re hoping that will really pay off as we go into this situation.”

None of the summer cases led to mass quarantines or school shutdowns in Manatee County, unlike recent cases in Duval and Polk counties.

As reported by the Gainesville Sun on Thursday, 80 Alachua County Public Schools employees — all unvaccinated — went into quarantine before the start of classes. The quarantines resulted from more than two dozen positive cases: five among students, 17 among staff, three among vendors.

And in Polk County, an elementary school closed for two days after discovering “multiple positive cases of COVID-19,” according to the Facebook post made by Spessard Holland Elementary School on Wednesday.

“We weren’t seeing significant numbers that raised any specific concerns, but at the same time there are ongoing cases associated with our schools,” Barber said of Manatee County’s summer cases. “We won’t know the impacts of where we’re at until school actually begins and we get our kids back on campus.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 4:14 PM.