Man blew in school nurse’s face after child sent home to quarantine, Georgetown cops say

A man has been charged with assault and battery after police say he lashed out at a school nurse, blew in her face without a mask on, and said, “Now you go quarantine.”

A nurse at Andrews Elementary School had informed Patrick Thomas Newton, 28, that his child had come into close contact with a student who has COVID, and that his child would be sent home to quarantine.

The nurse was explaining the COVID guidelines to Newton in her office, stating that the child had to be quarantined, according to an incident report from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office dated Jan. 12.

Jan. 13, Newton was booked into Georgetown County Jail and charged with assault and battery in the third degree. He was released from jail later that day after posting his $500 bond, according to the jail’s website.

The nurse was walking away when Newton asked why his child had to be quarantined and not another child.

The man called the nurse “crazy” and said she didn’t know what she was doing and that “all this was b******t,” the incident report states.

Newton then asked the nurse what would happen if an employee came into close contact with a person that has COVID. She explained that the same quarantine guidelines applied to staff.

Newton then stood up, stepped closer to her, and “blew with his mouth in front of her and said, “Now you go quarantine,” the nurse told police, according to Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office records.

The nurse responded that she had a mask on and that was not necessary, and said she did not have time for this. He replied, “Well neither do I” and walked out the door with his children.

According to the incident report, Newton then posted a status on Facebook referencing the incident.

“The nurse at Andrews Elementary School has been in close contact with someone that is covid positive. Think she will quarantine?” the incident report states.