More than 5,000 students, hundreds of employees in one Florida school district in quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19



More than 5,000 students in Florida's Hillsborough County Public Schools are in quarantine or isolation due to a massive spike in coronavirus infections as the 2021-22 school year begins.

Hundreds of district employees in the Florida school system are also in either quarantine or isolation.

The district, according to reports, serves more than 200,000 students in more than 200 elementary, middle, and high schools.

What are the details?

According to a Monday NBC News report, the massive number of people in quarantine or isolation either have tested positive for COVID-19 or have possibly been exposed to the virus.

"Isolation," a statement from the district explained, "refers to individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 while quarantine refers to those who have had close contact with a positive case."

Classes for schools in the vast district — the seventh largest in the United States — began last Tuesday.

At the time of this writing, the district's COVID-19 tracker tool states 847 students and 442 employees have tested positive for coronavirus since Aug. 2.

The tool reports that 399 of the student cases were reported Monday.

Hillsborough County Public Schools officials called an emergency meeting to discuss the possibility of instituting a mask mandate for all students and staff within the district in order to fight the dangerous COVID-19 spike in the area.

The meeting is set for Wednesday at 1 p.m. and will address preventive measures "up to and including mandatory face coverings for all students and staff."

According to WTVT-TV, the board will allow one hour of public comment at the meeting.

On Friday, Superintendent Addison Davis said, "We're going to make sure we still follow every statutory requirement, all the legal ramifications. But at the same time show that sensitivity with COVID in our community and put mitigation strategies in order to be successful."

Davis on Saturday added, "We must continue safety practices community-wide as we work to combat this virus."

Earlier in August, district officials announced required face coverings for the start of the school year, but pointed out that parents were able to opt their children out of the requirement if they so desired.

CNN reported that as of last Thursday, the district received at least 27,915 opt-out submissions.

Gov. Ron DeSantis savages Biden over COVID-19 finger-wagging: 'I don't wanna hear a blip about COVID from you' till you secure the borders, stop 'importing' coronavirus from around the world



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Fla.) hit back at President Joe Biden's administration after White House press secretary Jen Psaki criticized his response to the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic in the Florida Republican's state.

What are the details?

During a Wednesday news conference, DeSantis demanded Biden do his job and secure the U.S. southern border before admonishing the Florida governor about the state's rising coronavirus cases.

"Why don't you do your job?" DeSantis demanded. "Why don't you get this border secure? And until you do that, I don't wanna hear a blip about COVID from you, thank you."

DeSantis continued, "This is a guy who ran for office saying he's going to shut down the virus. And what has he done? He's imported more virus from around the world by having a wide open southern border."

Earlier this week, Psaki slammed DeSantis for what she and the Biden administration said was a failure in responding to the public health crisis in the predominantly Republican state.

DeSantis has been rather outspoken in his opposition to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest updated guidelines recommending universal masking in both schools and across high-transmission areas.

During Tuesday's press briefing, Psaki said of the rising cases in Florida and other areas of the southeast, "[I]f you aren't going to help, if you aren't going to abide by public health guidance, then get out of the way and let people do the right thing to lead in their communities, whether they are teachers, university leaders, or private sector leaders or others who are trying to save lives."

She added, "Leaders are going to have to choose whether they're going to follow public health guidelines or they're going to follow politics."

How did DeSantis respond?

In a statement on Psaki's remarks, the DeSantis administration told Fox News:

She might want to brush up on the Constitution and learn more about the role of a state governor. As it turns out, freedom matters. Every day, nearly a thousand Americans relocate to Florida — mostly fleeing from the ever-changing, contradictory COVID restrictions pushed by federal bureaucrats on lockdown states. By contrast, Governor DeSantis keeps up with the latest research and makes data-driven decisions. If he had 'gotten out of the way' as Psaki suggested, and let the CDC run our state, many of those lives might have been lost — as we saw with the tragic situation in New York, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, where the age-adjusted death rates are significantly higher than in Florida.

NOW - Florida's Gov. DeSantis to Biden: “Why don’t you do your job? Why don't you get this border secure? And until… https://t.co/cr8NRsdWwA

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