SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health (DOH) has excluded two Sarasota County students from school because of their contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus.
→COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS←
On Monday afternoon, Sarasota County Schools posted on their Facebook page that the two students who are being excluded from school are not ill and came in contact with the diagnosed person outside of Sarasota County.
"They are being quarantined as a public health measure," Sarasota County Schools wrote as a comment on their Facebook post. "Due to patient and family privacy, we will not be releasing the names of the school(s) the children attend."
Many parents expressed their concerns about not being told which school(s) the students attend.
"I get not releasing the child’s name for privacy reasons; however, during this state of emergency, we have every right to know if these children attend our child’s school. As a parent, it should be up to me if I want to risk send[ing] my child to a school that might have a future outbreak," one parent wrote in the comments.
Another mother wrote, "As a Mom of a child with an autoimmune disease, I believe we should know what schools are involved."
ABC Action News reached out to Sarasota County Schools to gather more details about the students and was told, "We have been directed by the CDC and the Florida Department of Health to not release the names of the students or the school(s) for the safety of those students and their parents."
RECOMMENDED: This is how the CDC says you should be washing your hands
"[The] custodial team has increased the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting at all schools and district sites," Sarasota County Schools added in the comments.
At this time, there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Sarasota County.