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Over 350 Students, Staff Excluded From Escambia Schools Due To COVID-19; Kingsfield Elementary Parent Addresses Problem
August 20, 2021
Just over a week into the school year, over 350 students and staff members are excluded from school in Escambia County due to either a positive COVID-19 diagnosis or an exposure.
As of late Thursday night, there were 81 confirmed COVID-19 student cases in Escambia County with a total of 326 students excluded from school due a positive test, quarantined due to a close contact with positive case, or were were waiting test results. Among staff, there were 24 positive cases and a total of 30 excluded.
“There is a big problem,” said Cody Brown, a parent of a student at Kingsfield Elementary School. “I mean I’ve talked to many parents whose kids are out of school this week due to COVID. It’s an issue.”
Brown’s comments came as he addressed the Escambia County School Board this week.
He said all of the students in his son’s class have been excluded until August 23 due to a COVID exposure. He said he’s being told to go to the school to grab paperwork, but he believes there must be a better way.
“This year, we’re not even a week in, and now I’ve got to have my son out of school, which he’s a first grader, for a whole week,” Brown said. “Now my daughter is out of school as well due to being in close contact.”
“You know last year this virus wasn’t attacking students like it is this year. This year we’re having a bigger issue. I’m not a mask person; I’ll be the first to tell you,” he said. “I’m not a vaccine person. I went and got the vaccine because it’s a time right now we need to be selfless.”
He praised Kingsfield Elementary’s staff for their response, noting they were simply following the protocols put forth by the state and school district.
Escambia County does not report data for individual schools.
Pictured: Cody Brown, Kingsfield Elementary School parents, addresses the Escambia County School Board. Image for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
55 Responses to “Over 350 Students, Staff Excluded From Escambia Schools Due To COVID-19; Kingsfield Elementary Parent Addresses Problem”
Seems public opinion is changing. How about turning this train around? Mandate masks in schools and let parents who object keep their kids at home. No quality education is going on when entire classrooms of kids are sent home and already stretched staff gets sick.
@David Green is absolutely correct. You haven’t seen anything yet in school cases. Many of you are going to have kids at home just due to exposures and resulting quarantines. The following says it all for the county. And by anyone’s estimate this is an undercount. Seems some of the info is not available anymore or not being released to the public.
An average of 347 cases per day were reported in Escambia County, a 24 percent increase from the average two weeks ago. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 1 in 7 residents have been infected, a total of 42,840 reported cases. Right now, Escambia County is at an extremely high risk for unvaccinated people.
The rates we have will insure that if you are unvaccinated you will get the virus at some point. It is not a bullying message, a trying to get you to get vacimnated message or any of that. It is just a fact. It is what it is…reality.
At
David Huie Green
You are 100% on target
I remember after kids were in school 2 days all of a sudden 300 plus students plus I forget how many teachers came down with the covid.
It takes 5-12 days for that after initial contact.
They were contaminated if you will before school started
Poor guys didnt know it and it had nothing to do with school after 2 days.
Prayers for all
But the school headlines made for good politics eluding to Gov DeSantis and the issue at hand between he and schools
I feel if we can get the politics out of the way and everyone get on the same page things would perhaps get better.
Too many people reacting to all and each media outlet they listen to and read.
We have become experts on misinformation .
Lots of hyperbole , a ton of it.
@Dewayne I’m not bullying anyone. And I’m not trying to get them to get vaccinated. Those people I cited are not going to get vaccinated. They suffer ignorance and stupidity foremost. I was just defining the cause and describing the reality of the situation with those people. That’s all.
REGARDING:
“But what everyone is forgetting is school has only be in session ONE WEEK (5 days) that means they had it BEFORE school started!”
August 11 through August 19 is greater than 5 days, closer to 8.
Very likely some were infectious August 11, any they infected would have been infectious by Monday, August 16 (actually some by Saturday, August 14, but mostly just friends and relatives over the weekend). Some of those THEY infected at school would have been infectious by August 19 and some of those THEY infected would have been infectious by August 22 and will likely infect some Monday 23 (not counting their parents and grandparents from today, Sunday) and of those THEY infect will be infectious by Thursday August 26 and some of those THEY infect…
If too many people are infected at once, local healthcare becomes overwhelmed, people WILL DIE WHO COULD HAVE SURVIVED — even if they don’t have COVID-19 — because the healthcare workers will be overwhelmed, supplies depleted.
“Looking only at cases for which they could determine the exact time of exposure, researchers found that the time interval from exposure to positive PCR test ranged FROM THREE TO FIVE DAYS, WITH A PEAK AT 3.71 DAYS. In contrast, data from the 2020 outbreak showed that it took an average of six days from exposure to positive test with a range of five to eight days and a peak at 5.61.
“Not only were Delta-infected individuals testing positive two days earlier, on average, THEY WERE ALSO WAY MORE INFECTIOUS BY THE TIME THEIR INFECTIONS WERE DETECTABLE. And by “way more infectious,” we’re talking about VIRAL LOADS THAT WERE AN AVERAGE OF 1,260 TIMES HIGHER THAN THOSE OBSERVED IN INDIVIDUALS INFECTED WITH THE ORIGINAL STRAIN OF THE VIRUS.”
https://medical.mit.edu/covid-19-updates/2021/07/are-things-different-delta
JULY 21, 2021 | Kim Schive
Please note I changed to capital letters those parts I figured need stressing.
David for Lexi, Wyatt, Harper, Brianna
and your loved ones too
@Warren
What is worse than covid, is people demeaning people and reducing to name calling thinking it is going to make a difference. Bullying people is a virus in itself as you did.
If you have some insight on the solution call the CDC or WHO and share all your answers and solutions.
Just dont call them stupid and make demands and condescending remarks.
So I teach in a school district out of state that REQUIRE teachers and students to wear masks 100% of the day. I can tell you Covid is still spreading like wild fire!
The ignorance here is overwhelming. You anti vaccine and anti mask people are the very reason we are where we are. Yes you are to blame. You take your liberty and your freedom and shove it where the sun don’t shine! Just stay the heck out of public places and isolate and the rest of us will be safe. But you won’t do that either. You think you have the right to endanger others health! I’d say covid isn’t your worst enemy but stupidity!
REGARDING:
“God said, “We are fearfully and wonderfully made”,”
A minor quibble, but I hate to see Him misquoted: “God said we are fearfully and wonderfully made,” would be closer since it doesn’t have Him claiming to have been made but still off since the psalmist is the actual speaker:
Psalm 139:14
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
(King James Version)
Now back to our discussion…
If a teachers could have a box of masks in their classroom, maybe with smiley faces on them, and they say something like “Say it Don’t Spray it” most kids will probably laugh and want to wear one. It will cut down on the spread.
Vaccines keep the ones who get it from being as sick, for the most part and their bodies simply don’t make as much of the virus to spread around.
Can’t some of the COVID funds be used for something like that?
I think vaccines should be mandated before they can go to school, if over 12.
Parents, get with the program.
Get a vaccine, for yourselves, your children and your community.
It’s that simple.
You are free to take advantage of modern medicine and not stay in the dark ages.
Escambia Alabama has a terribly low vax rate also.
But what everyone is forgetting is school has only be in session ONE WEEK (5 days) that means they had it BEFORE school started! Get vaccinated it will lessen the symptoms not prevent it! Teach your kids proper hygiene! Someone mentioned about virtual school which was an epic fail for the district last year, teachers not teaching, kids not doing assignments and parents complaining the kids were getting too much work! Well in all honesty the parents need to stay in their lane it’s hard being a compliant student and disciplined enough to get up and do their work. But at the end of the day virtual schooling needs fall more on the parent and parents tend to brush it off
For students to get diagnosed with covid 1st week is school they likely had it before school started, that’s one reason to wear mask don’t be a spreader! It’s better to be vaccinated & wear a mask than the possibility of being very ill or die with the delta variant. People complain about everything if it’s not for their pleasure.
You all made your covid beds when you protested for schools to reopen. You all made your covid beds when you were selfish and refused to wear masks. You all made your covid beds when you refused to lockdown. So, now you have to lie in those beds and it’s going to cost you dearly.. You’ve confused selfishness with liberty. You’ve confused inconvenience with oppression. You’ve confused conspiracy and misinformation with facts. Karma is swift and just. You reap what you sow.
Yes on August 20th, 2021 9:07 am
You certainly don’t have Asthma/Allergies like I do if a mask doesn’t bother you! Last year I went through mask mandate at work I felt like I was trying to breathe underwater! Everyone reacts differently, so don’t try to put everyone in the same category. God said, “We are fearfully and wonderfully made”, and I just don’t believe God ran us off as carbon copies, (no pun intended). So what my not bother you may certainly bother and even cause damage to someone else. So STOP pushing your science off on others. If the truth be known NO one here on Earth has the answer to this mess. We can only do and believe as we are led through what we ourselves have experienced and when the Lord has given us through his word!
Masks aren’t just for protecting yourself. They are for protecting everyone. Unmasked kid goes to school and picks his nose and touches his mouth all day and then spreads it all around.
Desantis is disregarding safety and science for his own political ambition. It’s disgraceful.
@CommonSense. You can’t even begin to relate TB in the US to Covid. 8,916: number of reported TB cases in the United States in 2019 (a rate of 2.7 per 100,000 persons).
@all for my freedoms you still don’t understand how the masks work? My mask protects you from me by keeping my germs to myself..If you’re not wearing one, you’re spreading your germs to me still. Every time you sneeze, cough, or spittle escapes your mouth for examples.
Since so many students and employees are already vaxxed and are not required to leave school even if they share a household or are in close contact with someone that has been exposed or tested positive, are we looking to change this rule since it has been released that they are the ones that can spread with little to no symptoms? If you aren’t vaxxed and get sick, you can identify your symptoms and quarantine at that time, seems like the issue is those that don’t know… All I’m saying is get the vax or don’t; everyone is responsible for their health. We can hope that soon it will be eradicated, just the flu. I mean, after all, over 1.5 million people died the last yr from TB, and we have had a vax since the early 1900s for that… just saying!
So Quarantining OPTIONAL?? This makes no sense, if my child or I have covid I can CHOOSE to go out in the general public!!!??!! Seems like that could lead down some bad roads like being held accountable for knowingly spreading an highly infectious and potentially very deadly virus and yet people still wonder why we are struggling with this.
“Hey NE what’s up with the headline saying “Excluded” I think you mean “Quarantined” is it not bad enough most people in the state are pretending that Covid doesn’t exist do you have to join in too?”
“Excluded” is literally the term used by the school district. It’s semantics. They are not quarantined from school; they are excluded from school.
Many of the people screaming no mask, no vaccine will sadly be gasping for breath in the coming weeks when they get Covid. I don’t wish that on anyone. But covid is sweeping through this area and I know two families who refused the vaccine and are now all very sick. One posting this morning on Facebook asking for donations as they are all out of work. Can you afford to be out of work or pay major hospital bills?
Hey NE what’s up with the headline saying “Excluded” I think you mean “Quarantined” is it not bad enough most people in the state are pretending that Covid doesn’t exist do you have to join in too?
I’m a freedom loving conservative, former Trump voter, and I’m proud to be vaccinated. I can’t think of something that makes you more American and a hero than having a vaccine in your arm to protect our little ones. There is no excuse for not having time, the vaccine is available everywhere and everyday.
Not a soul is stopping anyone from wearing a mask. Wear your mask, wear a parachute while you fly, wear your life vest at the pool, We don’t care.
@SusieQ
By that logic, should we legalize drunk driving?
It’s a personal choice. It’s a law that was designed to curtail our “freedom” in the name of protecting others. You are free to drive sober if you want, but don’t infringe on my right to chug a handle of whiskey, jump in my pickup, then drive through a school zone.
…or maybe, when we realize that something is causing harm to our community, we should be free to pass laws or restrictions that help protect the people that live here?
Everyone expects Surgeons, Dentists, etc. to wear a mask. Not everyone knows they may have a virus or bacteria that may cause harm to the patients or themselves.
So, I guess they should unmask, not wash hands or do anything that is going to prevent harm to the patient.
How many unmasking and anti vaccination people are going to go for that…yup the wailing would begin if a loved one died if that occurred.
Just how many surgery patients decline a needed procedure if the doctor scrubs up and wears a mask?
We should absolutely have remote learning available in!
These are just my thoughts and all people have opinions. I did not want to get the vaccine, but I did, because I’m a caregiver for my elderly family. I did what I felt I needed to do to keep them safe. That was my choice. Now, wearing a mask is a completely different thing. It’s a harmless way (no side effects) to try and keep all people safe. Is it one hundred percent guaranteed to do that? Who knows? Maybe not. But could it “possibly” help the spread of the virus? It could. So my question is…..Why is it such a big deal for people in a school setting,
where they are working in close proximity to one another for seven hours, to mask up? It’s a “respectful way” to show you care about others and yourself and who knows……, you might possibly help to stop the spread of this virus.
That last line of how we need to be selfless now is beyond true. We have to protect our most vulnerable in the community. A mask does not make it difficult to breath I’ve worn on for years to cut grass due to allergies and if I can manage that in the Florida humidity for a few hours kids can handle it inside. The anxiety surrounding the masks comes from the adults around them. If you make it okay for them they will adjust kids are so resilient with change and so adaptable. It’s come to a point where very few of us have not been directly effected with loss in our community from this. It is time to be selfless put on a mask get vaccinated if you can. Be able to stand before your god and say you did everything to save others.
@Michael – You & your children are MORE than welcome to wear masks & the mandate by DeSantis has no bearing on whether you choose to do so or not. The mandate just prevents school districts from imposing mandatory mask wearing. Parents make their own choices as to whether or not their children wear a mask to school – which smells a LOT like FREEDOM to me! I love DeSantis!
Michael
I too have grandchildren in school and am concerned. Lets not get political and sarcastic here. Mask are not going to stop covid, getting the vaccines will, While we have the freedom to express our opinion I also want to retain the freedom to control my health. If you want to ware a mask or get the vaccine fine do so. But dont tell me what to do, we have enough of that as it is.
We saw this coming from a mile away. Students were not having such a problem this time last year because the virus was not yet as wide spread as it is becoming.
I want them to return to remote learning if the parents should so chose to, and reduce the number of students in physical classroom groups. They ALL are still unvaccinated and the virus is able to spread among students practically without barriers.
If they have to close school for 2 weeks to prepare for and launch remote learning then so be it.
The Governor said plainly if you want to were a mask were it. He doesn’t want to force anyone to were it. You are not going to please every one so make your own decision as to were it or not and stop complaining.
EVEN WITH THE MASK MANDATE IN PLACE LAST YEAR….NO ONE WORE THEM
Just remember who everyone voted for to be making the No mask mandate! Who you ask your Republican Governor Ron DeSantis who is hiding behind closed doors and playing Russian roulette with the kids who are attending school! Shame on him for putting local school district in the middle of the firing range! God bless
If this virus was as bad as they say then the people in charge of this nation would take it as seriously as they want us too. I have seen multiple people in charge completely ignoring their own rules so for me and my family we will not take it seriously until the people in charge do. And if that makes you mad then you need to talk to the ones who are supposed to be setting the example. It’s like seeing a cop speeding for no reason and then you get a ticket for speeding. I have no respect for any of their hypocrisy
Not everyone agrees with the ridiculous masks. A mask does absolutely nothing to protect you. The vaccine has proven itself to be worthless too. This virus has killed less children than the flu did in 2018. Why didn’t anyone require masks for the flu? We as parents should have the right to choose what’s best for our children. I have to sit here and tolerate and accept things I don’t believe in just to make others happy. I do it without complaining so it’s time for those who push their ideologies on others to just sit back and accept and tolerate the fact that other people have a different perspective. It’s America people. We should be able to accept a different perspective without all the crying.
Michael on August 20th, 2021 5:49 am,
The NO mask mandate has nothing to do with the issue at hand! If you want your grandchild to wear a mask and breathe in hot, moist air all day by all means do it. There is nothing that says it is not allowed! Or take your child home and home school her/him and live in a bubble. The key to is that we ALL have rights and my rights shouldn’t take away from yours and yours should not take away from mine! Governor DeSantis still believes in the US Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance. “Liberty and justice for ALL”. Not just for some!
There’s nothing saying you can’t send your kid in a mask. If a parent is worried about their own child, they should send their kids in a mask. Teach the kids good hygiene and send with hand sanitizer and a mask.
Michael – not you or anyone in your family is being prevented from wearing a face covering. My granddaughter stayed conjested and with a cough the entire time she was required to wear a mask last year at Kingsfield – it cleared up as soon as the mandate for mask went away. I appreciate that our wonderful Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has some common sense and leaves the decisions up to the parents and does not mandate how the citizens of Florida should live and raise their children.
A majority of the people in the obits were posting anti mask, anti vaccine rhetoric on their FB pages. At some point they’ll understand it’s real and it’s here. The republican base is dying away. I switched my party to NPA. I don’t want anything to do with the r’s anymore.
Sending your child to school in the morning should not involve a bout of existential dread. Enough already. Have the kids and staff wear masks, for God’s sake. That is what allowed us to have a semi-normal school year last year. I want my kid to be in school, and she wants to be in school, but not requiring masks is foolish, and worse, puts not only the kids, but everyone who comes in contact with them at risk.
@Michael change the channel to something other than FAKE NEWS and maybe you won’t be so scared. Follow the normal safe distance, cleanliness and maybe homeschooling your grandson might be better for you. Governor DeSantis has beautiful young children that, I’m certain, are his first priority. He’s doing a great job.
Kudos to Mr. Brown. It’s true; it is time for all of us to be selfless in this fight against COVID. Get your vaccine. Wear a mask. Protect our kids, and those they come in contact with.
@Michael did someone tell you your grandson couldn’t wear a mask, if your that worried mask him up.
Mask up, get your vaccination, don’t be stupid, this is real, people are dieing, our kids are to be protected by us (NOT GOVONOR DeSANTIS). Protect our Children, Teachers, Nurses, school workers.
Everyone needs to put politics and blame aside and just be a hero and get the vaccine. Hospitals are a mess, Schools are a mess, Employment is a mess. Let’s get this over with. No excuses for this.
Children are our future we need to protect them.
Everyone wore masks all last year and we still had a lot of students out. Masks do not prevent covid and our Governor is smart enough to know this. Get vaccinated.
I have two family members at Kingsfield. One, a teacher, is positive and home quite ill. The other, a student, out for a week. School boards had few effective tools to combat the spread of Covid to start with. What little they had was taken away by Governor DeSantis. Those boards that wanted to defy the governor were threatened with loss of funding. The way we are choosing our leaders is not working very well. We are not getting the most qualified, intelligent folks in leadership positions. We should prepare ourselves because the No Mask rule is proving itself to be a very bad decision.
@Michael
So send your grandkid to school with a mask. If they work then he’ll be ok. The no mask mandate by our Gov. is simply preventing the eroding of personal rights.
Michael, have you seen studies concerning the paper and cloth masks?
This is what I was afraid of, I have a Grandson that is just starting Kindergarten and with the ridiculous No Mask Mandate from the seemingly Uncaring Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, all of our Children are now at Greater Risk of contracting COVID-19 than they would be if Masks
Well said Mr. Brown. Regardless to what you may feel about wearing mask or being vaccinated, people should be able to put the safety of their children and others first. I don’t see where it is too much to ask for people to have their child wear a mask to school. I’d much rather have my child have a little difficult breathing with a mask than to have them struggling to breathe from having COVID.
From One Vaxxed Nurse
The best way to protect children 12-18 years old from hospitalization/death is to get them vaccinated and have them mask while in public. The best way to protect children 2-11 years old (until vaccines are available) is to have them mask, and have EVERYONE in contact with them wear a mask when not at home (because even vaccinated people can spread it to them). In addition, vaccinated adults and teens who live with children under 12, should mask when in public to avoid breakthrough infections and secondary transmissions to children in their home. The best way to protect infants is for mom to get vaccinated while pregnant and/or breast feeding as some immunity will transfer to the baby through the placenta/breastmilk. Everyone in contact with an infant should mask. Limit visitors. Everyone who lives with an infant should mask when in public.