Outside Dallas ISD's J.L. Long Middle School, it was business as usual Wednesday neighborhood residents.
Many of them went about their daily lives, jogging and walking their dogs.
"I'm not that concerned because I'm not inside the school,” neighbor Joan Callahan said. “I don't have kids and I'm really not around them, but it's concerning in general."
Inside the school, everything was sanitized after a sick student was sent home Friday by a school nurse. That student was diagnosed with coronavirus Monday.
"We are heartbroken that we had a student identified with the virus," Dallas ISD Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa said the student did not get sick at school.
Dallas County health officials traced the students contacts for that day and alerted people the student came in contact.
"The student had only gone to two classes, so we're already communicating with all the parents and students in those families, and our principal went in and sent out a letter to them immediately," Hinojosa said.
Because the student was at school a short time, officials considered the exposure risk to be low, but they still asked those parents to monitor their children for symptoms.
People who live around the middle school know about the case in their area and they are being aware, but not fearful.
"Everybody is being really respectful in the neighborhood,” resident Isabella Ferraro said. “We still have dogs to walk. We aren't letting them be playful. We are keeping a bit of a distance and that is just a respect thing for everybody's health and safety."
Hinojosa could not say when J.L. Long Middle School or any DISD school may reopen.
