WLRN staff continues to add to community resource lists, including this articleon where kids and families can get food while schools are closed, and this postabout whether and where to get tested for coronavirus.
The dedicated website for the Florida Department of Health, including information about symptoms and numbers of cases, can be found here.
The dedicated website from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be found here.
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QUICK UPDATES
Miami-Dade School District Weighs Shorter Quarantines As COVID-19 Cases Rise
Updated Monday at 5:25 p.m.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is considering shortening the length of time students and staff members are required to quarantine after exposure to the coronavirus.
During a virtual meeting Monday, officials discussed the possibility of a quarantine period of seven to 10 days instead of a full two weeks. The potential change is based on a controversial recommendation last week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Aileen Marty, an infectious disease specialist with Florida International University and one of the district’s medical advisers, cautioned against making the change.
“Back when our levels were really low, and things were much better, then you didn't have as much risk,” Marty said during the meeting. “But our levels are now back up. The Christmas season is coming. And let's not forget the fact that [the CDC recommendation is] highly debatable. It's not settled whether that's going to be good advice.”
Marty said she would feel comfortable with a shorter quarantine if students or staff members tested negative seven days after being exposed to COVID-19. It often takes that long for the coronavirus to show up on a diagnostic test.
Results from the more accurate PCR tests are now being returned in about two or three days in Miami-Dade County. If people are tested on day seven, and they receive negative results on day nine or 10, they could go back to school safely without finishing the full two-week quarantine, she said.
However, people should not return to school based on negative results from rapid antigen tests, which produce many more false negatives.
“There's nothing like having the kids in brick and mortar, in school,” Marty said. “So how do we balance where we are with risk, real risk? And remember, it isn't just about the risk to the child, but to the child's family members.”
During the meeting, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho made the argument for keeping campuses open, despite the rising COVID-19 numbers in South Florida. When schools are closed, not only does the quality of education suffer, but also some students lose access to mental health care and nutrition.
“Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking ones that we've come across during our wellness checks and home visits and calls and assignments to school psychologists and social workers … is the case of a family whose mother had passed away not long ago,” Carvalho said. “So, it's a single-parent household, two children, and the parent has to go to work. The older student, the high school student, cannot concentrate on his learning, because he's actually caring for his younger sibling."
“That's a situation that cannot continue in our community,” he said. “So there is a strong case for opening schools.”
— Jessica Bakeman / WLRN News
Statewide Cases Increase By More Than 7,000, Resident Death Toll Increases By More Than 100
Updated Monday at 5:15 p.m.
Florida’s Department of Health confirmed an additional 7,711 positive cases of COVID-19 Monday. Florida has a total of 1,065,785 confirmed positive cases, according to the state's health department.
Monday's update also included the announcement of 105 new resident deaths, increasing the statewide number of Floridians who died to 19,282. Factoring in non-resident deaths the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is 19,529.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties make up 7,376 of those reported deaths. Monroe County has reported 28 deaths due to COVID-19.
— WLRN News
Coral Gables Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli, 77, Tests Positive For COVID-19
Updated Monday at 1:30 p.m.
Coral Gables Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli, 77, has tested positive for COVID-19.
Local blog Gables Insider reportedthat the mayor tested positive after receiving his weekly test on Saturday, and was asymptomatic at the time. He received the positive test results Sunday.
Valdes-Fauli’s last public appearance was at the city’s tree lighting ceremony Friday. Coral Gables Vice Mayor Vince Lago was also at the event but tested negative Monday morning. Lago said the mayor plans to participate virtually at Tuesday’s scheduled commission meeting. Lago will be attending in person.
Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.
— Samantha J. Gross / Miami Herald
The ‘COVID Slide’: More South Florida Students Are Failing
Updated Monday at 8:53 a.m.
More students are failing at their schoolwork as they learn at home during the COVID-19 crisis, according to new school district data.
The percentage of students getting F’s has more than doubled, with more skipping school and performing poorly on assessments.
“We’re in a crisis,” said Rosalind Osgood, chairwoman of the Broward School Board. “Parents have to connect kids to school. It’s not optional. If our kids are going to make it in this extremely difficult time, students must log on or come to school face to face. Students must be engaged in learning.”
— By Scott Travis / The South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Turning Point Ratchets Up Safety Protocols For Summit Amid Coronavirus Surge
Updated Monday at 8:51 a.m.
A spokesman for Turning Point USA said the young conservatives organization has invested in significant coronavirus mitigation efforts as it prepares for its annual summit in West Palm Beach this month.
"We are reacting and adjusting our plans on the fly as information becomes available," said Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet, adding that the group had made a "sizeable investment" in personal protective equipment, or PPE, such as masks, decals, graphics and will encourage students not to mingle, eat or socialize with those outside a "pod" of their roommates.
Previous Turning Point conferences at the Palm Beach County Convention Center have attracted thousands of students from around the country, including 5,000 last year, and the biggest names in conservative politics. The roster of past speakers includes President Donald Trump, who spoke to a standing-room only crowd in the convention center's largest ballroom a year ago.
— By Christine Stapleton / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
Stretch Of Sand On Palm Beach Overrun By 'Mobs' Digs Up Issue: Is The Beach Public Or Private?
Updated Monday at 8:49 a.m.
Unmannerly “mobs” descended on a previously lightly used beach in the Town of Palm Beach after coronavirus restrictions limited summer activities, and now residents are literally staking claim to their privately held sand.
White plastic posts were planted last month on a stretch of beach north of The Breakers resort to distinguish between where beachgoers can be cited for trespassing and the area closer to the water where it’s OK to play.
Some residents of the multimillion-dollar mansions that adorn North Ocean Boulevard along an eight-block stretch between Sunset Avenue and Wells Road said since the pandemic began, the area has been awash with disrespectful visitors who leave trash, swig beers, smoke pot, swing in private hammocks and loiter near homes.
— By Kimberly Miller / The Palm Beach Post
Read more from our news partner at The Palm Beach Post.
