Sick students asked to 'stay home' amid surging omicron cases in Manatee schools

Samantha Gholar Weires, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read

BRADENTON – School District of Manatee County officials are asking parents to keep children home from school if they are sick as omicron cases have surged following the winter break.

Two testing sites – one at Manatee Elementary School and another at Southeast High School – are up and running following the break, administering free COVID testing through the school-based health clinics. A third testing site was opened at Marble Park, located at 3675 53rd Ave. East in Bradenton, which provides daily testing, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Marble Park site is hosted by the Florida Dept. Of Health, officials said.

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A district-wide electronic phone message was sent out on Jan. 23 informing parents about the testing sites and the surge in COVID cases.

“Our primary mitigation strategy is to make sure people who are symptomatic stay home,” said Mike Barber, School District of Manatee County director of communications. “That helps hold down the spread … I know our parents, I know our employees are sick of getting the messages, but we feel like we have to keep driving it home.”

District officials say some students and parents continue to enter schools despite being ill, and the administration hopes the continued messaging and free testing will help keep faculty and students healthy.

A district employee checks to make sure Martha B. King Middle School students have masks on before boarding their school bus on the first day of classes in Manatee County.
A district employee checks to make sure Martha B. King Middle School students have masks on before boarding their school bus on the first day of classes in Manatee County.

Appointments are required for testing at school health clinics at both Southeast High and Manatee Elementary for PCR tests. Students are asked to bring their student ID and a parent along to any testing sites in the district. In addition, parents and county employees are also able to receive free testing at the Marble Park testing site.

Samantha Gholar covers news for the Herald-Tribune and USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at sgholar@gannett.com or on Twitter: @samanthagweires

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sunday's Connect-Ed message encouraged testing, keeping ill students home