COVID-19 cases spiked in Vero Beach High School in the past week as 12 students and three staff members tested positive for the virus and 92 students and a staff member were directed to quarantine.
A total of 10 school district employees tested positive for the virus between last Sunday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 7, more than doubling the number of staff cases since schools reopened Aug. 24.
The 15 students districtwide who tested positive between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7 were more than any earlier weekly total since the new school year started.
Overall, a total of 51 students and 19 staff members at 17 public schools have tested positive for COVID-19 since Aug. 24, records show. A total of 747 students and 26 staff members have been quarantined.
Meanwhile, a fourth case of COVID-19 was reported at St. Edward’s School during the week of Oct. 25-31, state records show.
A Middle School student tested positive for the virus, school spokeswoman Monica Jennings confirmed Friday.
Two classmates identified as having been in close contact with the student were directed to quarantine, Jennings said.
Those students’ health is fine, she said. Previously, a Lower School student, a counselor and a teacher had tested positive for COVID-19, Jennings added.
The virus spread to two new public schools in the past week – Sebastian River Middle School, where three staff members were diagnosed with COVID-19, and Treasure Coast Elementary School, where a student tested positive.
No one was quarantined at Sebastian River Middle School, while seven students and a staff member were directed to quarantine at Treasure Coast Elementary.
A student at Sebastian River High tested positive for the virus on Nov. 3 and seven students were directed to quarantine. So far, six students at Sebastian River High have tested positive for COVID-19 and 70 have been directed to quarantine.
A student at Storm Grove Middle School also tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 3 resulting in another student being quarantined.
In addition, two non-school-based district employees tested positive for COVID-19 between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7, causing eight co-workers to be quarantined.
One staff member each also tested positive at Gifford Middle and Osceola Magnet schools, but no one had enough contact to require quarantining, records show.
