ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Students and staff members at West Orange High School are returning to class on Thursday after the campus shut down due to about a dozen positive cases connected to campus.
The school closed on Sept. 21 and was initially going to reopen on Monday, Oct. 5. However, the Florida Department of Health gave the all-clear to the district since quarantines ended on Sept. 30.
West Orange High School is the second school to shutdown after Olympia High School reported several positive cases last month.
Dr. Raul Pino, the health officer with the Florida Department of Health-Orange County, said the decision to close the campus came after contact tracers learned at least 13 students had attended a birthday party off campus on Aug. 29.
According to the Florida Department of Health, 10 students and one staff member tested positive for the virus.
As a result, 136 students and 19 teachers were also asked to quarantine due to possible exposure.
Students at @WestOrange_OCPS are heading back to class for the first time in days after several people tested positive for the virus.
— Ezzy Castro (@EzzyCastro) October 1, 2020
Initially students were going to go back on Monday 10/05 but health officials gave the all clear to open early.
Live at 6:30 a.m. @news6wkmg pic.twitter.com/J19mJRI1B1
Meantime, several football players at Edgewater High School recently tested positive for the virus, according to Superintendent Dr. Barbara Jenkins.
Jenkins said a football game scheduled for Oct. 2 between Edgewater High School and Wekiva High School has been canceled as a precaution.
“Edgewater High School team had a couple of cases, one of them was in the rapid testing the other was symptomatic,” she said.
Jenkins gave an update on cases in schools Wednesday night during a medical advisory meeting with Dr. Raul Pino with the Florida Department of Health.
“We’d be interested to see how those numbers adjust Oct. 13 when we add nearly 16,000 additional students,” Jenkins said.