Watch CBS News

Some Workers Sent Home After COVID-19 Exposure At Florida School

BRADENTON (CBSMiami/AP) - After being exposed to coronavirus on campus, several employees of a Manatee County high school are quarantining for 14 days.

The school's principal has alerted parents to the situation, students are starting classes next week.

"We were alerted today that we had a confirmed case of COVID-19 on our campus," Carl Auckerman's Wednesday evening email to Palmetto High School parents said.

Using contact tracing, the Manatee County school district and the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County found that "a number of school employees" had direct exposure to the infected person, the Bradenton Herald reported.

"Direct exposure" means someone was within six feet of a person with COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes, according to the district's guidance, which follows recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It was unclear how many people were sent home on Wednesday, the newspaper reported. The email said the "individual associated with the confirmed case is also isolated according to district protocols."

He said the area of the campus where the person works will be "fogged and sanitized" on Thursday and employees who did not have direct contact will also return to work.

Teachers and paraprofessionals returned to work on August 3rd for training and preparations. Classes begin Monday for students, who have chosen to either return to campus, take full-time online classes or follow a hybrid schedule, which includes both in-person and online classes.

Another COVID-19 exposure surfaced on August 3rd, which forced six employees at Samoset Elementary to isolate for 14 days. At least four other cases have come to light since that time, the district said in a recent statement.

The Palmetto principal told families the school is sanitized daily.

"While this is a setback, I want to assure you our school will be ready and excited for the first day of school on Monday," the principal wrote.

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

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.