Massachusetts elementary school student reportedly sent home after sneezing

A fourth-grader in Massachusetts was reportedly sent home from his school after sneezing in class and told to not return until testing negative for COVID-19, the boy’s father told the local CBS affiliate station in Boston.

Thierno Keita explained to WBZ-TV on Tuesday that he got a call from the nurse at Bishop Elementary School telling him he had to come pick up his son, Lancinet. 

“I sneezed two times then the teacher told me to go to the nurse,” Lancinet Keita said in an interview. “I was thinking I didn’t have anything just a couple sneezes.” 

Thierno Keita said his son had no symptoms before arriving at the school just north of Boston on Tuesday. The father also claimed his son is still not exhibiting any coronavirus symptoms, taking Lancinet Keita’s temperature in the WBZ news segment to show that the 9-year-old did not have a fever. 

Bishop Elementary School officials confirmed in a statement to WBZ that “the student will either have to produce a negative COVID-19 test, written documentation from a health care provider stating it is an alternative illness or be symptom free for 10 days following the start of the symptoms,” before he can return to school, with officials citing school district guidelines. 

“A student at Bishop Elementary School was sent home early today after he displayed COVID-19 related symptoms,” the statement said. “This decision was made both out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with district protocols related to COVID-19. This isolated incident is not indicative of any need for wider concern of COVID-19 exposure.” 

This comes after the mayor of Attleboro, Mass., announced in a Facebook post last week that parents sent their child to a local high school days after the student had knowingly tested positive for COVID-19. 

On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Department of Health reported 143 newly confirmed cases and 11 deaths. The Northeastern state has now recorded a total of close to 126,000 cases with more than 9,000 people dying as a result of the virus.