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COVID-19 Cases In Escambia Schools: FDOH, School District Report Very Different Numbers
October 22, 2020
An Escambia County School District report shows over three times as many COVID-19 positive students, teachers and staff members than indicated by a report from the Florida Department of Health.
For the weekly period ending October 17, the Florida Department reported five COVID-19 positive cases at schools in the Escambia County School District.
According to the state report, there was one positive COVID-19 student at Bellview Middle School and one teacher each at Oakcrest Elementary and Washington High School. An “unknown” role COVID-19 case was reported at both West Florida High School and Cordova Park Elementary.
But according to an Escambia County School District reported obtained by NorthEscambia.com, there were 17 positive cases in the Escambia County School District on Friday, October 16. There were 11 positive students and six positive staff members, the report states. The district report says the 17 had a positive COVID-19 test confirmed by the Florida Department of Health or other lab test result.
The ECSD report does not specify which schools had the positive cases.
The school district also reported 301 students were excluded from school on October 16. Those are students identified by contract tracing as having potential contact with a known case, whether it be at school, among family or in the community. There were 23 staff member excluded from work for the same reason.
The FDOH report also shows one positive student the week ending October 17 at Aletheia Christian School in Escambia County, which is not a public school in the Escambia County School District.
Comments
15 Responses to “COVID-19 Cases In Escambia Schools: FDOH, School District Report Very Different Numbers”
Wearing a mask shouldn’t be such a contentious issue.
My grandsons are in elementary school in the southwest part of the county. They said they did not have to wear masks when they are in the classroom. Just when they are in the hall. They are not social distancing either. The school put on their Facebook page showing students in the classroom with no mask and the teacher was not wearing one either. Disgraceful. I heard one of the teachers quit because they were not wearing masks. They have a new principal this year.
I’m a school bus driver. The elementary kids are pretty good at wearing their mask while riding the bus. However every parent need to know their middle and high schooler are not wearing their mask. I had a child throwing up on the bus one day i suggested everyone put their mask on for safety. About 40% complied. I’ve personally handed out hundreds of mask since school started. Bus drivers aren’t the mask police parents have to take control. Kids say if I get it I’m out of school for 2 weeks. The buses are over crowded due to driver shortage. Putting your children on a school bus should be last option. With more and more kids returning from remote learning this is only putting more kids on an enclosed space.
Parents your kids follow your lead.
To the parents complaining about their high school age children not being made to wear masks, how about YOU taking some responsibility for your children not wearing their mask. Oh right, the peer pressure. What can you do but let it happen. Kids will be kids right.? Wrong. You complain about the kid being sent to school coughing and I agree, he shouldn’t have been in school unless he had been tested and got a negative result. Again, parent’s responsibility. But as parents it is also your responsibility to also enforce upon your kids to wear masks. That’s part of the problem – parents assume all the responsibilities of teaching their kids lies with the teachers and the schools. Sorry, responsibility also lies with the parent. Just saying.
I was at Tate high on Wednesday and I also noticed that the most of students and staff that I saw were not wearing their mask. I was there picking up my child who was in a class with a child who tested positive. I feel absolutely betrayed by the school board. We were assured that our children would be safe All measures would be taken to insure their safety. My child knew who the child was and stated that the child was coughing throughout the entire class She felt uncomfortable and was worried The class my child was in was over crowded and there was no social distancing. These are my questions Why was the class so over crowded to the point that social distancing was not observed. Why was this child even in school. This is high school. He doesn’t need a sitter. Why are the students and staff not wearing mask as we parents were told that they would be before the start of school Why was he not sent home. He was coughing so much that it was disruptive Further more he was not wearing a mask in fact he had not worn a mask since school started. He was not asked to go to the clinic He sat in that class and possibly spread his germs. So shame on his parents for sending him to school. Shame on the school board for lying to us Shame on anyone working with children who doesn’t put our children’s safety first.
At Teacher
I was told masks would be required to attend school in person AND that there would be social distancing in the classroom. Neither are true. My grandson’s Geometry class is so full there’s no way to spread them out 6 ft apart! I feel as though we were lied to when it comes to that information. My grandson begged to GO to school since this is his first year in high school and now I do not feel good with him being there and not protected as I was promised. I’m fine with the teacher not wearing a mask when she/he is in front of the class (6 ft away from the students). But another big issue is the students – it is not being enforced when they are changing classes to have their masks on during that walk down the hall where its crowded-that I have a serious problem with. I have witnessed this myself last week when I came to check my grandson out for a dentist appt. Even in the attendance office – not one of the 3 Admin women there had on a mask (although they were behind the plexi-glas together) And yes I had my mask on and so did my grandson when he walked in the door. All I want is for the rules to be enforced as I was told they would be!
My son is a Junior at Tate. I received a call on Wednesday that he had been in class with someone that had tested positive on Tuesday. So apparently there is AT LEAST 1 positive case at Tate this week.
Teacher’s have a choice to wear the mask just like your child. Let’s not throw stones at teachers about wearing mask, when you pick up your child who most likely didn’t wear their mask the entire day at school. They have potential to expose you in the car, at home and everywhere else. Unfortunately, this is the norm for right now. Secondly, there are different teaching position (grade levels/courses). Have you tried helping your child do their homework while wearing a mask? Teaching your child to play an instrument wearing a mask? How about trying to get 30 kids attention wearing a mask?
Let’s support the teachers. If you don’t want your child in school pick virtual and support that teacher behind the screen. Thank you!
I know for a fact that Ernest Ward middle school has had a student that was positive but yet has claimed zero cases.
No masks at Ransom Middle either!!
And now the Gov wants to go to once a week reporting for cases, because it costs too much, it’s hard, the virus is going away, and the public needs a more accurate count. Yeah, right!
You know the state said don’t look at the number of cases,look at the deaths. Then when the deaths got bad it was look at the percentage. Then they changed the way they did percentages to make that look better. Then they cut the number of tests back and back and back and said look at how the cases are going down…but they weren’t and they aren’t. So, now they just won’t report anything! La! La! La! Cover your ears! Cover your eyes! If we ignore it and pretend everything is back to normal…Maybe it will all just go away!
Oh but Covid 19 isn’t any worse than the flu, right? Yeah, but there is a vaccine for the flu. There are proven treatments for the flu. Imagine how bad the flu would be if there weren’t. That is, at least, how bad Covid is!
And it doesn’t help that Tate is having overcrowded classrooms with no social distancing or mask enforcement. I was there yesterday and saw maybe 3 students out of 80 wearing a mask when class let out. The faculty is also not wearing masks. How are we suppose to feel like they are taking care of our children when they are there?? We get calls that they are being safe but it’s all a lie! I seen with my own eyes!
No, its almost as if they never have counted the cases correctly or keep changing how to count them. It has been a mess from the beginning.
Trump did tell his buddy DeSantis to stop reporting the numbers.
It’s almost as if the state has been cooking the books on case numbers ever since they fired Rebekah Jones last May. I recall Gov. DeSantis smearing her by saying she was under criminal investigation. I’d be really interested to get an update on that “investigation”. I don’t believe there was one.