LAGO VISTA, Texas — Lago Vista ISD confirmed a student who attended its before-school Kinder Camp tested positive for COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Emily Jahadi dropped sent her eager 5-year-old son to Kinder Camp at Lago Vista Elementary. She was hoping the event would help put her son at ease about starting school.
"My son and I went in our masks, but there was hardly anybody else, and none of the staff members, the teachers manning the booths, checking in families, none of them were masked," said Jahadi.
The two-hour event may have put her son at ease but left mom more concerned.
"I sent my child in a mask to this event and when I picked him up, it was lost," said Jahadi. "He didn't have it."
A few hours later, Jahadi got an email from the district, telling her that a student at the camp tested positive for COVID-19.
The email to parents from the district reads:
"Dear parents,
"In keeping with Lago Vista ISD's COVID-19 protocol, we are notifying all parents of students attending Kinder Camp today, that one of the students has received a lab-confirmed, positive diagnosis for COVID-19.
"Due to privacy requirements, the district cannot release the name of the individual or details that may identify him or her, but we can say that the student was in the Red Team of students and it is our opinion that this team did not intermingle with the other teams."
"If your child was in the Red Team group and you are concerned they may have been a close contact, please notify your medical provider for advice on next steps.
"Symptoms of Covid to be on the lookout for are: runny nose, congestion, cough, sore throat, fever, aches, vomiting, headache, fatigue, loss of smell.
"The district is working closely with our local and state health department as required."
Jahadi said this could have been prevented.
"I was furious," said Jahadi. "I kind of expected that this would happen. I didn't expect it would happen on the first day of Kinder Camp, not even the first day of school."
Jahadi said even though her son wasn't in that particular group, she's monitoring for symptoms.
"The email that was sent out to us by the superintendent. It kind of outlined the measures that were going to be taken, such as social distancing, and that was not enforced," said Jahadi.
Lago Vista ISD doesn't plan to offer virtual learning this fall. Jahadi hopes this isn't an early sign of how the upcoming school year will go.
"Since it's an optional thing, how are the teachers going to handle some kids wearing it and some kids not, and what are they going to do to enforce for the kids that are wearing their masks," she asked
The state health department said more people of all ages are ending up in the hospital because of the virus, including children.
This is adding to concerns among parents, teachers and school staff. The Texas chapter of The American Federation of Teachers reported 78% of its members want the governor to drop his executive order that bans mask mandates for school districts.
Lago Vista ISD put out this statement:
"We are aware of this positive case and have notified those who are at risk of potential exposure. As we have throughout this pandemic, we will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our students and staff to the best of our ability. Our District protocols are governed by, and align with, the requirements set forth by Governor Abbott, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. We will continue to monitor the guidance from our governing agencies and will adjust our District protocols accordingly."
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