80 exposed after child sent to school with COVID, Washoe district says

RENO — About 80 people have been exposed to the coronavirus after a school district in northern Nevada said a parent knowingly sent a child to school two days after learning the student tested positive.

The Washoe County School District, which covers the Reno area, said in a statement Wednesday that the parent had also tested positive and “refused to communicate” with Marce Herz Middle School.

The names of the student, parent and other exposed people were not released.

Some students were sent home to quarantine but the district did not specify how many there were. Those kept from school are expected to participate in home-learning and keep up with school work, officials said.

The district urged parents and others to cooperate with disease investigators.

“It’s imperative that we collect information from positive cases in order to reduce transmission in the community,” the statement said.

Unvaccinated students sent home may return to school if they take COVID-19 tests after five days of quarantine and test negative and are free of symptoms, the district said.

Fully vaccinated students may return to school if they are free of symptoms and bring their vaccination records for validation by a school nurse, the district said.