Oklahoma high school student knowingly went to class with coronavirus, officials say

Oklahoma school officials say a student knowingly attended class with the coronavirus on the first day of school, believing it was safe to do so because he was asymptotic.

The student at Westmoore High School in Moore, just south of Oklahoma City, was “under the premise that since they were asymptomatic … they didn’t need to quarantine for the entire 14-day period,” school officials told NBC affiliate KFOR. Friday.

The Moore Public Schools Administration did not respond to requests for comment by phone or email to NBC News on Sunday, but said in a letter to parents that school nurses had “finished tracing within our school to identify students and staff who may have been potentially exposed. to the virus through close contact. “

The student was identified following an anonymous information Thursday, the school’s first day of classes, according to KFOR. The child’s parents told the school that they had “miscalculated” the end of their child’s quarantine and thought it was safe to send him to school.

Moore Schools announced that another student has also tested positive for the virus, and 22 students who came into contact with the two students are now in quarantine.

“We will do absolutely everything in our power to safeguard and protect our students and staff,” school spokeswoman Dawn Jones told KFOR.

“I don’t know why people do things, why they make certain decisions. What they know to be true and let us know, ”Jones said.

Oklahoma has recorded nearly 48,000 cases of COVID-19, including more than 650 deaths, since the start of the pandemic.