MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Less than 50 students and staff are in quarantine in Marion County as the second week of school is underway.
The district said it expected some teachers and students to be taken out of school due to the virus and said six students and four teachers tested positive during the first week of classes.
Vickie Treulieb teaches AP literature and theater at Forest High School, but finds herself in quarantine after her husband tested positive Friday. She’s also a mother of three with two school-aged children who are also in quarantine.
“While I was at work, I got a text that said ‘I have COVID’ so I went to my school secretary to report it because I wanted to be honest about it,” Treulieb said.
She immediately left school and picked up her children, Liam and Kensley, from NH Jones Elementary.
“The health department called on Sunday and asked if I was feeling symptoms... I said ‘no’, the kids weren’t feeling symptoms. They said to get tested if they were and gave me a return date based on my husband’s,” Treulieb said.
Treulieb said she and her children are asymptomatic, but her husband has a cough.
She said her students were not asked to quarantine.
“Because I don’t have a positive result, so I’m just a contact to an exposure is how they put it. They should be fine,” Treulieb said.
Treulieb also said her children’s classmates didn’t have to quarantine either. According to the district’s reopening plan, that decision would be made by the Florida Department of Health, which is also in charge of contact tracing and notifying any students and staff who may be affected.
For about two weeks, Treulieb has a substitute and her children are continuing their learning online.
During the first week, Marion County Public Schools said less than 50 students and teachers have had to quarantine after direct contact with someone with a confirmed case.
“We all know it’s going to happen. Being one of the first that it’s happened to is setting the precedent of it,” Treulieb said.
She said it’s been a learning experience for her and the school district. By wearing a mask in class and following CDC guidelines, she hopes no no one, including herself, is spreading the virus.
“I don’t want to pass it on to anybody, that would be terrible. With the precautions in place I think we’re doing the best we can in Marion County in hopefully keeping exposures at minimum and mitigating risks,” Treulieb said.
Treulieb said she was very outspoken against opening schools at first.
“I was one of the first people to say we shouldn’t go back to brick-and-mortar school, at least initially because of the high positivity rate... But I’m glad we went back. A lot of kids do need it and my kids are thankful to be there. My students share a lot of stories with me and some of them are heartbreaking,” Treulieb said.