Over 80 Nev. Students Potentially Exposed to COVID After a Parent Sent Their Sick Child to School

Washoe County Health District officials said they are not currently pursuing charges against the parent at this time

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Published on August 14, 2021 02:08 PM

Over 80 Students Potentially Exposed to COVID After a Parent Sent an Infected Child to School — Photo: Jeffry W. Myers/Corbis via Getty

Over 80 Nevada students have potentially been exposed to COVID-19 after a parent sent their infected child to school, according to CNN, which cited Washoe County Health District officials.

Earlier this week, a student sick with COVID-19 attended the first day of classes at Marce Herz Middle School in Reno despite both the child and their parent having previously tested positive for the contagious disease just two days prior.

After a day of in-person classes, the children who came in contact with the individual had to quarantine and learn virtually, the outlet reported.

The school district did not offer any information about the sick student or their parent, CNN noted. The parent of the affected child would also not communicate with health district staff or school officials, the health district added.

"We are not seeking to invest our limited resources in bringing charges against the parent at this time," health officials said in a statement to the outlet. "We are seeking cooperation from our community members."

After the sick student attended in-person classes on Monday, Principal Brandon Bringhurst sent out a letter addressed to parents and the students who may have potentially been impacted a day later.

The letter, according to CNN, told parents that if their child is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 they could bring proof of vacciation and their kids could resume in-person classes right away.

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Impacted students were also instructed that they can take a COVID-19 test on or after Saturday, the outlet added. Should they test negative and not exhibit any symptoms of the illness, they can return to school on Tuesday.

"We are asking everyone, especially parents with children in Washoe County schools, to please cooperate with disease investigators regarding positive COVID-19 cases," the health district said in a statement to Insider. "It's imperative that we collect information from positive cases in order to reduce transmission in the community."

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In Washoe County, the number of cases among children under 18 increased between June and July, CNN reported, citing the health district.

According to local data, the current positivity rate in Washoe County is 17%, while there are 2,873 active cases. More than 58% of residents 12 and older have also been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors of K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status, given new evidence on the delta variant.

Currently, Washoe County students, teachers, parents, and visitors are required to wear face coverings inside, according to a state directive.

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