Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Borrowing From Trump, Gov. DeSantis Threatens Fla. Schools That Defy Him
The Washington Post: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Threatens To Withhold School Officials’ Salaries If They Impose Mask Mandates
In a statement Monday, DeSantis said district-level officials who implement covid-19 policies requiring masks for students could be subject to “financial consequences.” “For example, the State Board of Education could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school board members, as a narrowly tailored means to address the decision-makers who led to the violation of law,” said the statement from DeSantis’s office to CBS Miami and other news outlets. (Lipscomb, 8/9)
NPR: DeSantis Says Superintendents Could Lose Pay If They Order School Masks
As the majority of Florida's K-12 schools prepare to reopen campuses at full capacity this week — many of them on Tuesday — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the State Board of Education could withhold pay from school leaders who implement mask mandates for students. The move to potentially punish educators follows days of controversy during which school district superintendents and school board members seeking to comply with CDC guidelines ignored an executive order from DeSantis banning school districts from requiring students to wear face masks. (Romo, 8/9)
Some Florida schools are defying the governor —
ABC News: At Least 2 Florida School Districts Refuse To Allow Students To Opt Out Of Wearing Masks
Risking financial consequences from the state of Florida, two school district superintendents are refusing to allow parents to opt their children out of district-wide mask mandates without a medical reason. Doing so directly defies an emergency rule issued Friday by the Florida Department of Health, which mandates that parents be allowed to stop their children from wearing masks in the classroom. (McDuffie, 8/9)
AP: Florida Capital Schools Go Against DeSantis, Require Masks
The superintendent of the school district in Florida’s capital said Monday that he will require students to wear masks amid an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations fueled by the delta variant, defying the governor’s attempts to block schools from imposing such a mandate. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office responded by saying the state’s Board of Education could move to withhold salaries from the superintendent or school board members. Though the Leon County mandate allows exemptions for students with a physician’s or psychologist’s note, it doesn’t give parents the authority to opt out, as DeSantis wanted. (Licon, 8/10)
The Guardian: ‘I Don’t See How It Can Be Safe’: Florida Schools On Frontlines Of State’s Mask War
With about two weeks to go until the start of a new school year, Miami father Jerry Greenberg is feeling anxious. With the more contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 causing record-breaking positive cases across Florida, Greenberg’s biggest fear is that his son and daughter will catch the deadly respiratory disease even if they are wearing masks. “They will be exposed to [other] kids not wearing masks and they could get sick,” Greenberg said. “I think they can safely go back in person, but only if they all wear masks. Without masks, I don’t see how it can be safe.” (Alvarado, 8/8)
In related covid news from Florida —
USA Today: As Kids Return To School, Most Florida Counties Report COVID Cases Four Times Higher Than Last Year
Most Florida children are returning to school in areas where COVID-19 outbreaks are far more intense than they were when school started last year. In most counties, cases are at least four times higher than a year ago, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. Five counties report a more than tenfold increase. (Fraser and Stucka, 8/10)
Fox News: Florida’s Health Department Says CDC’s COVID Count For State Is Wrong, 'Anticipates' Correction
The Florida Department of Health took to Twitter on Monday to ask the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to update its COVID-19 case tracker for the state because it incorrectly combined "MULTIPLE days into one," which made the Sunday daily case count explode to the state's worst ever. The department said it follows the CDC’s guidelines for reporting cases. The CDC reported 28,317 new cases on Sunday, which WSVN reported would mark the most confirmed infections in one day in the state since the beginning of the pandemic. Multiple media organizations picked up on the number and the department corrected the stories online with some bite. (DeMarche, 8/10)
The Wall Street Journal: As Delta Variant Spreads, Florida Hospitals Race To Find Open Beds
Nurse Darlene Andrews stood before a small crew responsible for stopping the latest pandemic surge from overrunning seven of AdventHealth’s Orlando-area hospitals. She quickly listed occupancy at each hospital. Six were beyond full capacity, with one at 123% for adults. Nearby wall-mounted screens streaming hospital data showed more than 90 patients—some with Covid-19, some seeking other care—needed beds. One had been waiting more than two days. (Evans, 8/9)
WUSF Public Media: Long Lines At Hillsborough County-Run Coronavirus Testing Sites
With coronavirus cases spiking, people seeking tests overwhelmed Hillsborough County’s two new sites on Saturday and caused them to close early on Sunday. County officials had anticipated administering 500 tests at each of the locations, but completed more than 2,000 on Saturday. The demand created long lines at the walk-in sites, and officials said they anticipated the lines would be long all week. (Ochoa, 8/9)
