Parents took their children to Miami Lakes K-8 Center on Wednesday morning and kissed the kids before they passed through the gates of the campus.
But 14 students and three teachers were not there for the drop off routine at 14250 NW 67th Ave; instead, they were in quarantine at home after two of those children reported Tuesday they were positive for the coronavirus.
“We pray and wish that the children will be well and that they recover quickly,” Perla Tabares Hantman, chair of the Miami-Dade County School Board said Wednesday.
Tabares Hantman confirmed the cases of COVID-19 at Miami Lakes K-8 Center and the school’s processes to protect its other students and staff.
Miami Lakes K-8 Center is the fourth school in the Miami Lakes area of northwest Miami-Dade County to report that students or staff have been exposed to COVID-19, according to a Florida Department of Health database updated as of Oct. 10.
The other schools include Barbara Goleman Senior High School (one student with symptoms); Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School (one staffer with symptoms) and Miami Lakes Educational Center (one unknown person, with symptoms).
There were 80 schools in Miami-Dade County coping with coronavirus infections; cases at those affected schools numbered six or less, the state report said.
Esther Delgado was dropping off her 9-year-old daughter at Miami Lakes K-8 Center on Wednesday and said she received an email from the school that described the quarantine in place and that all those affected will stay home until they test negative.
Delgado was concerned but said she was comforted about efforts in the school to protect kids from the virus.
“The kids stay put and the teachers move to the next room,” Delgado said. “They have signs in the cafeteria about where the kids cannot sit and they need to be apart and to wear masks all the time.
“They have been cleaning a lot, there is hand sanitizer all over the school and the kids are given wipes to clean their desks and chairs,” Delgado said.
Tabares Hantman lives in Miami Lakes. She said she had committee meetings on Wednesday and planned to visit that school on Thursday.
“I wish everyone well and I know the school is trying to take every precaution,” Tabares Hantman said. “The school has been very clean and obviously this is a very difficult virus that has been spreading around.”
Parents can monitor two dashboards for updates about the virus in their children’s schools.
According to Tabares Hantman, the list from the school district is not updated until cases are verified by the Department of Health. It can be found here:
https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNTQzNDljZWItNTgyNC00NjlkLTgxYTEtMDM0Nzc2OGFhZDM5IiwidCI6IjQ1NzhmNjhmLTg2Y2QtNGFmOS1iMzE3LTkzZTM4MjZjYTBmNSIsImMiOjF9
The state site is here:
http://ww11.doh.state.fl.us/comm/_partners/covid19_report_archive/school-reports/schools_latest.pdf