Over 5,000 students quarantined or isolated due to Covid in just one Florida school district

More than 5,000 students and hundreds of school employees in a single Florida district have either tested positive for Covid or potentially exposed to the coronavirus, school officials said.

According to a Monday morning statement from Hillsborough County Public Schools, 5,599 students and 316 staff are either in segregation or quarantine.

“Isolation refers to people who have tested positive for COVID-19 while quarantine refers to those who have been in close contact with a positive case,” the statement said.

These figures prompted the HCPS to call an emergency board meeting at which measures “down to mandatory face coverings for all students and staff” will be discussed.

The district includes the city of Tampa and serves more than 200,000 students in more than 200 elementary, middle and high schools, according to the HCPS website, and is the seventh largest in the country.

“We need to continue safe practices throughout the community as we work to combat this virus,” said Addison Davis, HCPS Superintendent. said saturday.

The emergency meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m.

The deaths of two teachers and a teaching assistant from Covid in Broward County rocked residents as children began to return to class, even as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis defied flouting school districts its ban on mask warrants for schoolchildren.

Earlier this month, Florida broke its record for daily confirmed cases of Covid.

Speaking to MSNBC on Friday, Davis explained that his district would oblige masks while still allowing parents to opt out.

“We’re going to make sure that we always meet all the legal requirements, all the legal ramifications,” Davis said. “But at the same time, show that sensitivity with Covid in our community and put in mitigation strategies to be successful.”

The announcement of the emergency meeting did not mention whether a waiver of the proposed mask mandate would still be considered on Wednesday.