VERO BEACH — Officials said 46 Vero Beach High School students will need to self-quarantine after one student tested positive for COVID-19.
School officials initially sent 15 students home Friday who came in close contact with the pupil. Those students were ordered to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Later, school officials identified 31 more students who came in close contact with the infected student, School District of Indian River County Spokeswoman Cristen Maddux said. The additional students, along with the infected pupil, will also need to self-quarantine, Maddux said.
School district staff called the families Friday notifying them of the quarantines. The safety precautions are part of the district’s “Safe at School” reopening plan.
“We’re doing this out of an abundance of caution,” Maddux said. “We’ve been prepping for this for several months. We’re continuing to do contact tracing.”
There were no other reports of positive COVID-19 cases at public schools in Indian River County as of Friday afternoon, Maddux said.
Schools in Indian River County reopened Monday. The reopening was delayed by two weeks so school officials could have more training on coronavirus protocols, including increased cleaning measures, social distancing and teleconferencing.
Maddux said school officials were notified Friday morning of the positive case at Vero Beach High School. School officials sent out robocalls informing families of the situation.
Maddux said the student was on campus Friday, but was not at the school Wednesday and Thursday.
Personal details on the student and their condition were not available. It was unclear if the person who tested positive or the other students showed COVID-19 symptoms.
Maddux said the students in self-quarantine will continue education through virtual learning. The students’ siblings who are also enrolled in public schools will have to quarantine as well, Maddux said.
The students who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms will be allowed to return to campus after quarantine ends, Maddux said. Those with symptoms will need to provide documentation of a negative COVID-19 test to be allowed back into the classrooms.
School officials continue to implement increased cleaning and sanitization on the campus.
Vero Beach High School has 2,900 students, including those at the Freshman Learning Center, Maddux said. Maddux said 1,900 students were participating in traditional learning on campus.
Schools offered families two other options – virtual school and transitional distance learning – in response to the coronavirus public health crisis.