2 Palo Alto students sent home due to potential coronavirus exposure

FILE PHOTO: Palo Alto High School. FILE PHOTO: Palo Alto High School. Photo: Yelp / Sally M. Photo: Yelp / Sally M. Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close 2 Palo Alto students sent home due to potential coronavirus exposure 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

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Two students in the Palo Alto Unified School District were sent home on Friday due to possible coronavirus exposure, superintendent Don Austin wrote in an email to parents.

“Earlier today, district officials received a report that a parent of two PAUSD students may have been exposed to Covid-19," the email reads. "As a precautionary measure, the district immediately took action and the two students were sent home and will be excluded from attending school until we receive more information.”

One student is at Palo Alto High School and the other is at JLS Middle School. Their identities were not released, and it is not clear which active case the parent of the students may have been exposed to.

Three people in Santa Clara County have tested positive for coronavirus. Two had traveled to Wuhan, China, although it is unclear how the third individual contracted the virus.

"This new case indicates that there is evidence of community transmission, but the extent is still not clear," Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Santa Clara County, said in a statement Friday. "I understand this may be concerning to hear, but this is what we have been preparing for. Now we need to start taking additional actions to slow down the spread of the disease."

The third patient, whose diagnosis was announced Friday, is a 65-year-old woman with chronic health conditions and was hospitalized for a respiratory illness. A statement from the Santa Clara County Health Department advised the public to wash their hands, avoid touching their faces, stay away from people who are sick and start thinking about family preparedness, including "how to take care of sick family while not getting infected."

SFGATE digital editor Amy Graff contributed to this report.

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Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting