San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
71 students in Murrieta placed under self-quarantine.
Employee who traveled out of country tested
Murrieta school officials said 71 students have been placed in self-quarantine after a school employee was tested for the coronavirus.
The employee had recently been to a country where the coronavirus was spreading, according to the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, which said Murrieta Valley High School would be closed Monday and cleaned.
School officials said the Riverside County Public Health Department made the decision to isolate the students because they came in contact with the employee.
Officials emphasized there are that no actual COVID-19 coronavirus cases have been confirmed.
The school is one of several in California that have been affected by the coronavirus.
San Francisco’s Lowell High School announced it would close and cancel events and gatherings for at least the rest of the week after it was learned that a relative of one of its students is being treated for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
In San Jose, a preschool closed after a teacher tested positive for the virus. An Oakland charter school was closed through the end of the week because of a possible exposure, and an exclusive private school in Atherton will be closed through the weekend after a potential exposure of someone connected to the school.
Elk Grove Unified School District, the largest in Northern California, announced Saturday it will close all schools for the next week after a family whose child attends one of its schools was put on quarantine for coronavirus.
Elk Grove is the first school district in the state to suspend instruction. Spring break, scheduled for next month, will instead be moved to this week so that no school days will be lost.
The district said in a letter to parents on Saturday that the family of one of its students is under a quarantine order by the Sacramento County Public Health Department, but emphasized that “to date, no student or staff has tested positive for COVID-19.”
Meanwhile, Baja California health officials on Saturday said 10 suspected cases of coronavirus have all come back negative. Health officials had been observing 10 potential patients over the past several days, nine of whom had a history of recent travel to Italy and one more to Japan.