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Leon Schools To Do 'Wellness Checks' On Students Who Traveled To NY, DC

Leon School Superintendent Rocky Hanna says school nurses are getting in contact with the 400 students and chaperones who recently returnedfrom school trips to New York and Washington D.C. The trips occurred before Spring Break. 

He again defended the trips Tuesday saying at the time students flew out there were no domestic travel advisories in place and still aren’t. Deerlake Middle school students went to New York—a state with a high number of COVID-19 cases. Hanna says three of those students were tested for the flu.

“In the abundance of caution and after talking with the Department of Health, we’re now asking our school nurses to call each individual family and child that attended that trip to do a wellness check," Hanna told reporters Tuesday. "Cecause the last thing we want to do is make assumptions through reports on social media. We want to go straight to the source is the family of the child or children that went on the trip.”  

Students returned about two days before the White House recommended people avoid discretionary travel for the next 15 days.

Cobb and Montford students traveled to Washington D.C. Hanna says none came back sick but four students reported cases of head lice. The district notes it changed the itineraries: instead of going to restaurants, the schools ordered in, and avoided subways.

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Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lynn has served as reporter/producer for WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She is an award-winning member of the Capital Press Corps and has participated in the NPR Kaiser Health News Reporting Partnership and NPR Education Initiative. 

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