School wastes no time sending fourth grader home after he sneezes in class

An Arlington, Massachusetts, school reportedly sent home a 9-year-old boy after he was caught sneezing in class.

The child's father said that the school will not permit his son to return to the fourth-grade class until he receives a negative COVID-19 test.

What are the details?

Parent Thierno Keita told WBZ-TV that his son, Lancinet, was sent home from Bishop Elementary School on Tuesday after an apparently concerned teacher sent him to the nurse's office for sneezing in class.

Lancinet told the station that after he "sneezed two times," his teacher directed him to visit the school nurse even though he felt just fine.

Lancinet told WBZ that he had to wait in the nurse's office until his father was able to come and pick him up.

"I was thinking I didn't have anything, just a couple sneezes," the child told WBZ.

Keita told the station that he's not happy with the way the school behaved over a few sneezes.

"I've been so upset about it," he admitted. "I'm so upset about sending my kid home."

Keita also said that his son doesn't have any symptoms indicating a coronavirus infection.

"He don't have any symptoms, no one, and he's OK," he explained. "And I checked his temperature. Everything was perfect. His temperature was OK. It's OK."

Keita said he has no choice but to take his son for a COVID-19 test so he can go back to school.

'An abundance of caution'

A spokesperson for Bishop Elementary School told WBZ that school officials elected to send the child home out of an "abundance of caution."

"A student at Bishop Elementary School was sent home early today after he displayed COVID-19 related symptoms," the statement explained. "This decision was made both out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with district protocols related to COVID-19."

The statement continued, "This isolated incident is not indicative of any need for wider concern of COVID-19 exposure. 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."

At the time of this reporting, researchers at Johns Hopkins University estimate that there have been at least 127,969 confirmed coronavirus cases in Massachusetts, with at least 9,328 deaths attributed to the virus.