A student from Sarasota Military Academy, and their mother, have been placed in quarantine after mother came in contact with patient who tested positive for the Coronavirus.
This comes just days after the student, and their classmates, met with Vice President, Mike Pence, when Pence was visiting the city for a fundraiser at the Longboat Key home of Representative Vern Buchanan. Pence met with senior cadets at the academy, shaking hands and posing for pictures.
In a statement, the school confirmed that the student and their mother were put into quarantine, after the mother had come into contact with a patient in her professional capacity. The patient was later tested positive for the virus. The statement makes it clear that the quarantine is just a precautionary measure, with neither the student or their mother actually testing positive, and the school has been in contact with them.
The Pentagon has been in touch with the school, and Colonel Christina Bowman, executive director of schools at SMA, has made it clear that the student was not present for the event and did not come in contact with Vice President Pence. Katie Miller, Pence’s press secretary, has also taken to Twitter to make clear that the student did not come in contact with Pence at all.
The Academy released their own statement on Facebook about the matter, ensuring families know that neither patient has exhibited any symptoms and that they are working hard to sanitize the classrooms and encouraging students to take the same precautions.
According to the Florida Department of Health, there are two confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the state, with eight pending cases, 15 negative results, and 184 people being monitored for possible exposure.
Coronavirus has been dominating the headlines for past few weeks, after its reported spread around the world, after originating in Wuhan, China. Due to its highly contagious nature and lack of a vaccine, as of now, the virus has caused quite a stir among the world media, leading to some countries banning visitors from other countries.
The Chinese and U.S. government have both faced criticism for their handling of the health crisis, with people claiming cover-ups and ignorance to be hurting the situation more than helping. President Trump put Pence in charge of the task force to help contain the outbreak, which drew further criticism, with many pointing to Pence’s time as governor of Indiana, during which he was responsible for the largest HIV outbreak in state history.
