Miami’s father, Jerry Greenberg, is worried about two weeks before the start of the new semester.
With a more contagious delta variant of Covid-19 that fosters record-breaking positive cases throughout Florida, Greenberg’s greatest fear is the deadly respiratory system even when his son and daughter wear masks. It’s about getting sick.
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“They will be exposed to [other] Children don’t wear masks and can get sick, “says Greenberg. “I think they can go back to safety directly only if they all wear masks. Without a mask, I don’t know how safe it is.”
Thousands of other parents across Florida are in the same predicament as Greenberg, whose son begins grade 9 at Palmetto High School and his daughter enters sixth grade at Palmetto Middle School. Both public schools are located in Miami-Dade County, and the state’s largest school district requires all students to wear school bus masks, but has not yet applied restrictions to campuses.
In a statement earlier this week, Miami-Dade Public School Director Alberto Carvalho reassessed the district’s decision to implement a mask option policy in the light of the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). I said that I am doing it. We recommend that children over the age of 2 and all school staff wear masks indoors.
Carvalho relies on the advice of a task force of medical and public health professionals. This will be recommended next week, before August 23, when the school year begins.
Florida’s solid Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, is urging the decision that the state school district requires students to wear masks in educational facilities.
In recent weeks, DeSantis has turned further to the right by repeating his contempt for Covid-19 restrictions. He holds a secret meeting with mask prevention medical professionals, signs a presidential order giving parents the final decision on whether children wear masks at school, and asks children to wear face covers. We promised to block state funding for compulsory school districts.
DeSantis, who took over the legacy of former President Donald Trump and soared to the top of the 2024 Republican National Convention, was sharply rebuked by Joe Biden on Wednesday for the governor’s promotion of mask prevention policies. People trying to do the right thing. ” The next day, DeSantis counterattacked at a press conference.
“Well, let’s talk about this. If you’re pursuing the rights of your parents in Florida, I’m in your way,” said DeSantis. “Well, I can tell you in Florida, my parents are going to make that decision.”
DeSantis’ threat of blocking state funding does not prevent some school districts from supporting his ultimatum.
The Alachua County Board of Education voted to require all students to wear masks during the first two weeks of the class. The Board of Education in Leon County, the capital of Tallahassee, has implemented mandatory mask rules for pre-kindergarten to second-year middle school students. And after first showing that it would follow Desantis’ orders, the Broward County School District announced this week that it would maintain Maskman Date.
DeSantis’ hardline approach works well with the Republican Trumpian base, but recent state data on Covid-19 infections show that they get sick and go to the hospital during this fourth wave. Given that, his stance is confusing, Celesta Smith said. A 67-year-old retired Miami-Dade Public School teacher whose granddaughter lives with her.
“You are looking for trouble when our intensive care unit is full and the hospital is over-expanded,” Smith said. “I’m only concerned about the idea that my granddaughter is in a situation where she hasn’t taken extreme precautions.”
Between July 23 and 30, Florida had 10,785 new Covid-19 infections in children under the age of 12, with an average of 1,540 new cases per day, according to the State Department of Health. This is an increase of more than 600% compared to the same period in June. Ministry of Health data also show that during the week of July 23, there was an average of 32 pediatric Covid-19 hospitalizations per day.
With the resurgence of Covid-19 in Florida, even conservative educators are struggling to embrace DeSantis’ hard line.
Republican Miami-Dade High School teacher Sean Beitl said the governor did not follow the main conservative principle of allowing local governments to make their own decisions. Although he has been vaccinated, he is unlikely to get sick with COVID-19. “By threatening to withhold funding, Desantis is not practicing conservatism and is removing control from the local school board,” Beitl said. “It’s like a fascist-type leadership model.”
Confusion and calamity caused by the need to isolate and isolate people exposed to infected individuals by preventing school districts from forcing students to wear masks. It’s been another year. “Last year, my school started with 80% capacity,” says Beightol. “Within a month, capacity went down to 50% and then down to 10%. I think it will start this year as well.”
Beitle, the administrator of several Facebook pages that public school teachers can vent, said educators fall into three categories.
“I don’t think it’s worth endangering our lives and the lives of our children,” Beitle said. “The right thing is to mandate a mask until you know for sure what the effectiveness of vaccination is against the delta or other mutants.”
Meanwhile, Miami’s dad Greenberg said he was angry that Desantis did not follow the CDC guidance on the use of student masks. According to Greenberg, his 11-year-old daughter is still in an age group that is not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. And I don’t know if even his vaccinated son is safe.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that this variant poses a serious risk to children,” Greenberg said. “Our governor seems happy to send the children to the slaughterhouse and earn political points at his base. There is no reason not to follow science.”