South Florida School Group Back In Class After Coronavirus Scare

PALM BEACH GARDENS (CBSMiami/AP) — Thirty students and three teachers from a Palm Beach Gardens school may have been exposed to coronavirus at a conference at Yale University last weekend have been allowed to return to school.

After being confined to their homes for five days, The Benjamin School allowed them to return after none of the students or teachers showed signs of the virus.

During the four day conference, they came in contact with a Chinese student who came down with a cough at the conference and tested positive for the flu. Test results for the coronavirus are pending.

The news comes as worldwide concern is growing over the viral disease. China has reported 170 deaths from the virus and at least 7,700 infections. More people have now been infected by this coronavirus in China than were sickened there during the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak.

Reid told parents that the Centers for Disease Control suggested they could consider allowing the group back on campus. But school doctors advised it would be best for them to remain at home "until we have conclusive news," Reid wrote.

Health officials across the world are trying to take adequate precautions without triggering mass panic for an illness that has been confirmed in only five people in the U.S. — all of whom are believed to have contracted the virus when traveling abroad.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)