HOLMES BEACH – Manatee County schools, including Anna Maria Elementary School, continue to see a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
AME reports two coronavirus cases among students and two students quarantined as of Sept. 3, with 10 total cases since the school year began last month.
No confirmed cases have been reported among staff. Of the 52 schools in Manatee County, AME is one of only five that has seen no staff cases.
The county had 49 student cases and five staff members testing positive, with 178 students quarantined as of Sept. 3. There have been 1,820 COVID-19 student cases countywide and 274 staff cases countywide since Aug. 10.
Manatee County has a mask mandate in place for schools, but it has an opt-out clause that allows parents to send their children to school without a mask if they fill out an online form. While the state outlaws mask mandates and can withhold funds from county school systems that violate the law, Manatee County’s school system is unlikely to lose funding because of the opt-out clause.
COVID-19 procedures in Manatee County schools
- All students and employees who are sick or who have symptoms will be sent home until they are symptom-free.
- Temperature checks will be taken daily for all employees and randomly for students.
- Reinforce and practice proper handwashing techniques among students and staff.
- Provide and encourage the use of hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
- Deep clean and disinfect schools and school buses daily, or in between uses as needed.
- Make every effort to social distance as much as possible in schools.
- District employees visiting schools, other than their own, must wear masks during the school day.
- Provide plastic shields in elementary classrooms and cafeterias where possible.
- All employees will answer COVID-related questions daily upon arriving at work.
- Limit non-essential visitors and volunteers to school campuses.
- Everyone eligible to be vaccinated is strongly encouraged to get vaccinated.
