A father in Massachusetts says his nine-year-old son – a 4th-grader – was sent home from school this week because he was sneezing, CBS Boston reports.
“I sneezed two times, then the teacher told me to go to the nurse,” said the boy, Lancinet Keita.
Lancinet said he felt fine, but his sneezes sent him to the nurse’s office where he had to wait for his dad to pick him up from John A. Bishop Elementary School in Arlington, Massachusetts.
“I was thinking I didn’t have anything, just a couple sneezes,” Lancinet said.
Lancinet Keita.
CBS Boston
His father, Thierno Keita, said a call from the school nurse Tuesday morning caught him by surprise.
“I’ve been so upset about it,” Thierno Keita said. “I’m so upset about sending my kid home.”
The school said a student was sent home early after displaying COVID-19-related symptoms and that the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with district protocols related to COVID-19.”
“Per district protocols, 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,” it said in a statement, according to CBS Boston.
“This isolated incident is not indicative of any need for wider concern of COVID-19 exposure.”
Keita said his son was OK when he left for school and had no symptoms when he picked him up. “He don’t have any symptoms, not one, and he’s OK,” Thierno said. “And I checked his temperature, everything was perfect.”
Thierno said they will get a test, and hopefully have the results quickly so he can get back to school.