Just two days after returning to the classroom, there are confirmed cases of COVID-19 on three different school campuses in Manatee County. 

Phone calls were made and emails were sent out on Tuesday, making families aware of the situation.

At Ballard Elementary, the district said, “a contact tracing investigation was conducted by a Florida Department of Health epidemiologist, and it was determined that there were direct exposures to the confirmed case.”

The message went on to say, “The case is isolated to a portion of the campus, and anyone who had direct exposure to the confirmed case is being contacted and sent home to isolate for 14 days.”

At Parrish Community High School, the Florida Department of Health determined there was “minimal direct exposure” to the confirmed case.

The state of Florida requires all traditional public schools to report COVID-19 cases on campus, but that’s not the case for charter schools.

Spectrum Bay News 9 independently confirmed a case at Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication.

The school notified the Florida Department of Health anyway.

“It has been determined that the confirmed case had limited exposure to distinct portions of our campus. These areas will be closed for the next 2-5 days for intensive cleaning and disinfecting,” Principal Chuck Fradley wrote in an email to parents and employees.

Both Ballard Elementary and Parrish Community High School also said their campuses were undergoing additional cleaning measures.

The district says it’s continuing “to take mitigation measures at our [schools] including taking temperatures, wearing masks, asking symptom-related questions of all students and staff daily and limiting access to our [campuses].

A spokesperson for Manatee Schools declined to comment on how many students or staff members were affected in each of these cases, citing HIPPA. 

All three schools reopened Wednesday as scheduled.