With five new cases of COVID-19 in Pinellas County schools, some 500 students and staff may now be quarantined

Five Pinellas County Schools reported new cases of COVID-19 Friday, according to the School district’s latest report Tuesday.

The new cases required four classroom quarantines and impacted a varsity football team.

Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School reported one student tested positive for the virus and that two classrooms were subsequently quarantined. Maximo Elementary School and Tarpon Springs Elementary School each reported one student cases, resulting in one classroom quarantine at each school.

Palm Harbor University High School reported one student case, which didn’t trigger any classroom quarantines, but did affect the school’s football team.

An employee cases was reported at Highland Lakes Elementary school, but no classrooms or buses needed to quarantine.

The latest reported cases bring the number of students who have tested positive to 15. Another 16 school employees have tested positive.

Combined, the cases have resulted in at least 46 classroom quarantines, one bus quarantine and an unknown number of quarantines on the Palm Harbor football team.

Assuming an average class size of 10, that means the district may now have quarantined 500 students and staff. The district does not release the total number of quarantines and only reports by class and bus.

The Pinellas County Schools district also announced Tuesday it was utilizing new guidance from the Florida Department of Health to undergo a “more surgical selection process” for determining who to quarantine. The new methodology looks at seating charts and other mitigating measures.

The district did not provide specifics, but it’s possible the shift could result in fewer quarantines moving forward.

So far, the district has used the new guidance only on Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School.

Health officials nationwide warned heading into Labor Day weekend last week that increased travel and social gathering over the holiday weekend could lead to an increase in new cases, including at now-open schools.

Data will likely not reveal whether that is the case for at least another week.

Quarantines issued the first two days of school are now lifting. The quarantines last for two weeks. This is the third week of school for Pinellas County students.