Nevada City School Reopens, Some Students Remain Quarantined

Ninety-eight students at the Yuba River Charter School in Nevada City remain quarantined at home Thursday after officials shut down the school when one unvaccinated child was diagnosed with the measles. The student had recently traveled internationally. The school was closed for one day and reopened on Wednesday.  

When public health officials learned of the child’s symptoms earlier this week, more than 100 students from the school were asked to remain at home because they lacked documentation of measles vaccination or immunity. Some parents were able to provide the documents. Public health officials say the 98 students will remain excluded from the school until necessary documentation is provided.

In a statement, Nevada County Public Health Department says staff have either contacted or attempted to contact all of the families of students excluded from the charter school. Not all students were tested for the disease, but parents were asked to monitor for symptoms.

“Measles can be very highly contagious,” says Nevada County Public Health Officer Ken Kutler. “Schools have a lot of movement and are fluid. We wanted to make sure anyone who was possibly exposed in that school who doesn’t have documentation of immunity was in a safe place.”

According to Kutler, the department is planning for the possibility of more cases.

“I hope this raises the awareness that measles is just a plane ride away,” Kutler says. “It’s very important for people traveling overseas to be well-protected and vaccinations are your best defense.”

Nevada County has some of the highest rates of unvaccinated students in California, but only one student has a confirmed case of measles in the county, according to the Nevada County Public Health Department. The student has since fully recovered, according to officials.