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Ponte Vedra high schoolers' group photo draws worry about COVID-19 spread

A traditional group photo the first day of classes at Ponte Vedra High School is being called careless by some parents, doctors and even the school district.

PONTE VEDRA, Fla — A group photo of Ponte Vedra High School students on their first day of senior year shows them with beaming smiles.

But within hours of its posting Monday on Twitter, the photo was drawing grimaces from the medical community and some parents.

“I understand. Everyone’s seeing each other months afterward and they’re excited seeing each other,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Mohammed Reza said after seeing the picture of about 80 senior girls, all wearing masks but also packed together to the point of contact.

“It’s not just wearing a mask and not having distance, but rather, keeping that distance,” Reza said, calling masks and social distancing two of three “sledgehammers” against the spread of coronavirus, the third being frequent washing of hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water.

But he emphasized that the absence of any of the three practices will undermine even the most disciplined habit of the other two, “until we have very good medications to treat it, or a fantastic vaccine.”

Reza wasn’t alone. Dr. Robeen Mathore, chair of infection control at Baptist Health, called the group photo a “super spreader event.”

“If there’s somebody infected there, they could certainly spread it to lots of kids and they can get sick with it, unfortunately, and take it home to grandma and grandpa also,” Mathore said.

A parent who declined to be interviewed said in a note to First Coast News “I’m so upset by this.”

“Nobody said, ‘Hey, this isn’t a good idea?’” the parents asked.

But the St. Johns County School District agreed it wasn’t. Spokeswoman Christina Langston explained that the senior girls’ photo on the first day back is a tradition but that the district didn’t condone it this time around.

In a statement, Langston said, in part, “It was not in good judgment that this picture was taken. This is not our expectation of students and staff and this should not happen again.”

As much as the doctors empathized with the students’ exuberance, both Reza and Rathore winced while detailing the delayed potential effect if any of the students infected another.

“Even though everyone feels great right now,” Reza said, “my concern is two to four weeks down the line.”

Rathore said, “I hope this doesn’t end up being a bad situation, which we’ve seen in other places.”

RELATED: Two St. Johns County mothers, two different decisions about how their children should attend school during pandemic

RELATED: 6 feet apart? Crowded photo op at Ponte Vedra High School sends mixed message

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