Coronavirus positives in Bradenton and Hillsborough Counties (Tallahassee, Sarasota: manufactured, bills)

[wondermint2]

Venice city manager rescinds special event permits because of the rising impact of COVID-19

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...ts/8235828002/

VENICE – The city of Venice reinstituted a ban on special event permits, effective Tuesday – a decision that will impact everything from the Friday night concerts in the park and Venice Farmers Market to the Downtown Venice Labor Day Weekend Craft festival.

City Manager Ed Lavallee told the Venice City Council that he made the decision Monday, because of the increasing number of COVID-19 positives attributed to the delta variant.

[wondermint2]

Warm Mineral Springs Park closed for at least 10 days, as COVID-19 impacts staff

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...ng/8254283002/

The city of North Port closed Warm Mineral Springs Park effective Tuesday, because of COVID-19 impacts on staff.

The park will be closed for at least the next 10 days, according to a news release.

The city will assess the situation to determine when it may open again.

[wondermint2]

Disney Cruise Line to require COVID-19 vaccination for passengers despite Florida law

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/new...law/ar-AANH2yi

Disney Cruise Line is the latest to shift policy to now require passengers 12 and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for sailings from Florida, even though a law pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis threatens to fine cruise lines for demanding proof of vaccination.

The move comes nearly a week after the Bahamas updated an emergency COVID-19 declaration that prohibits cruises ships from entering a Bahamas port, including the many cruise lines’ private islands, unless eligible passengers are fully vaccinated. This does not apply to passengers 11 and under who don’t have a vaccine option or to passengers with proof of a medical reason they cannot get a vaccine.

The Bahamas order goes into effect Sept. 3 and lasts through October for now. On Tuesday, Disney posted its amended policy to follow the same approach as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC Cruises and Celebrity, all of which sail from Florida and had allowed some unvaccinated passengers.

Cruise lines have opted to require vaccines from its eligible passengers from every U.S. state except Florida because of the law that went into effect July 1, which threatens to fine companies $5,000 per instance for any time a business demands proof of vaccination.

Norwegian Cruise Line filed suit over the law and a federal judge granted a temporary injunction to prevent the state from enforcing it. That injunction only applies to NCL and its sister brands Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas.

The Orlando Sentinel reached out to the governor’s office for comment about how it will enforce the law now that cruise lines will be asking for proof of vaccination but has not heard back.

The move by the Bahamas forced the hands of all major cruise lines that have returned to business from Florida as the majority of sailings have included stops either in Nassau or at the cruise lines’ private islands.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office COVID-19 Outbreak Affects 10% Of Employees

No disciplinary action for Sarasota County Sheriff's Office staff who knowingly spread COVID-19

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...19/5571029001/

According to email records, Maj. Jon Goetluck sent three emails just in August asking employees to stay home if they were sick. Goetluck says employees still knowingly went to work after they received positive COVID tests and had symptoms.

Even though employees knowingly spread the virus to others, the agency says it isn't implementing any disciplinary actions at this time.

There are no additional measures, like mandatory masks, being implemented either. Perez said the same safety protocols in place before are still strongly encouraged.

Since vaccinations are not mandatory, the agency doesn't keep track of how many employees are vaccinated. As of now, the agency is not offering any incentives for employees to get vaccinated, but resources and testing are available.

[wondermint2]

How many Manatee County students opted out of masks or went into quarantine? Here's what we know

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ho...cid=uxbndlbing

As of noon Monday, at least 5,336 families chose to opt out of the School Board's temporary mask mandate, with the most forms — nearly 2,300 — coming from elementary school parents.

And for the first time since school began on Aug. 10, the school district uploaded quarantine numbers to its public dashboard on Monday evening. The daily update included 141 new COVID-19 cases among staff and students, along with 411 people sent into quarantine for an exposure.

Based on guidance from the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, the need for a quarantine depends on social distancing and whether the exposed person was wearing a mask.

In a recent email to a parent, Superintendent Cynthia Saunders cited the DOH and said that a mask-wearing person should quarantine if they stayed within 3 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes. The distance changes to 6 feet for someone not wearing a face covering.

Monday's report, including the 411 on quarantine, reflect a daily update and not the total number of people sent home over the last two weeks of school. The Bradenton Herald made a records request for that data on Aug. 18 and had yet to receive documents as of Tuesday morning.

There have now been 964 COVID-19 cases in the schools — 157 among district employees and 807 among students — since the beginning of classes. After just three weeks, Manatee County schools and district offices are likely to surpass the 1,119 cases reported over both semesters in the previous school year.

If a student arrives at school without a mask and no opt-out on file, the school is supposed to make a face covering available, Barber said. Then, if the student refuses, the school should make contact with their parent or guardian.

"If the parents say, 'Yeah, I don't want my kid wearing a mask,' then that's a verbal announcement to them," he continued. "The school should then mark that down as the parents' preference."

Barber also confirmed Monday that local schools had no defined punishment for students who ditch their mask.

"They don't want to punish kids in regard to these mandates," he said. "They want to work with them to make sure they're following the wishes of their parents."

[wondermint2]

Latest Florida poll about Covid-19, masking

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...-19/ar-AANHDiH

What about the question of everyone wearing a mask while inside, especially while the delta variant is surging?

Of those who responded, 59% said yes to masks for all indoors, 39% said no, and 2% are undecided.

The poll also addresses some of the controversy surrounding the wearing of masks in schools. Should they be optional or mandatory?

Voters were asked if schools should require students and staff to wear masks. Sixty percent said yes, 36% no, and four percent are undecided.

Asked whether they support the governor's threat to withhold school leader salaries if they require students to wear masks, 69% said no, 25% yes, and six percent are undecided.

"This is a big number of parents speaking very clearly and school administrators as well, and something they believe must happen and should happen for the safety of kids," Malloy said.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the latest Florida Covid-19 poll results:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/po...rks/ar-AANHKhR

[Sunshine Rules]

The commonly worn cloth and surgical masks are roughly 10 percent efficient at blocking exhaled aerosols, a University of Waterloo study found.

The study, examining the effects of masks and ventilation, ultimately found that commonly used cloth and surgical masks do little to filter exhaled aerosols.

“The results show that a standard surgical and three-ply cloth masks, which see current widespread use, filter at apparent efficiencies of only 12.4% and 9.8%, respectively,” the study concluded, noting that KN95 and N95 masks were far more effective at filtering out aerosols.

“Apparent efficiencies of 46.3% and 60.2% are found for KN95 and R95 masks, respectively, which are still notably lower than the verified 95% rated ideal efficiencies,” researchers continued in the data published last month prior to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reversing course, advising fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks if they are in high-risk areas.

The study’s conclusion continued:

Furthermore, the efficiencies of a loose-fitting KN95 and a KN95 mask equipped with a one-way valve were evaluated, showing that a one-way valve reduces the mask’s apparent efficiency by more than half (down to 20.3%), while a loose-fitting KN95 provides a negligible apparent filtration efficiency (3.4%).



The debate over face masks continues........

[Troubleshooter]

And the Positivity index as it is being used is pure statistical garbage.

There is no stable population it uses for a basis.

[wondermint2]

Today's Update From Sarasota Memorial Hospital

273 Covid-19 patients hospitalized today - a decrease of 5 from yesterday's total of 278 (eleven shy of Sunday's record total of 284).

59 Covid-19 patients in the ICU (an increase of 7 since yesterday's total of 52 ).

4 people died from Covid-19 at SMH over the past day

the 7-day test positivity ratio is 18.3%

unvaccinated Covid-19 patients at SMH is currently 90%

source:
https://www.smh.com/Home/News-Events...ly-news-update

[wondermint2]

As student COVID cases reach new high in Manatee, the School Board extends mask rule

https://www.bradenton.com/news/local...253716528.html

The Manatee County School Board has extended a mask mandate through late October as local schools break COVID-19 case records. That mandate still includes an opt-out option for students and employees, despite a push by one board member to tighten the rules.

The School Board approved its original mandate last week, setting an expiration date of Aug. 25. And on Tuesday night, as the board discussed a renewal, the school district added 226 new COVID-19 cases to its online dashboard.

There have now been 1,190 cases among students and employees since the start of classes on Aug. 10 — more cases in two weeks than all of last school year, when the district reported 1,119 cases over two semesters.

“I have a motion that I would like to present,” Chairman Charlie Kennedy said on Tuesday evening. “I’m not sure that I have three votes for this. I’m not even sure I have two votes for this, but I’m just going to put it out there.”

Without making an official motion, Kennedy floated the idea of including a mask requirement in the student dress code. The rule would only allow opt-outs for documented medical or exceptional student education (ESE) reasons.

In response, board attorney Stephen Dye said the move would violate an emergency rule authored by the Florida Department of Health, which called on schools to include an opt-out in their mask requirements. The rule followed a push by Gov. Ron DeSantis to make face coverings optional among students.

James Golden, the board’s vice chair, said he had no interest in facing a legal battle, nor was he interested in “getting around the governor” by embedding a mask mandate in the dress code.

Instead, Golden made a motion to extend the current mask mandate — including the opt out for students and district employees — through Oct. 29.

He then took a suggestion from board member Gina Messenger, adding to the motion and giving Superintendent Cynthia Saunders authority to end the mask requirement if Manatee County’s seven-day positivity rate drops to 8%.

The county’s last seven-day positivity rate was 17%, according to the Department of Health data reviewed by board members on Tuesday night.

Board members then voted 3-2, with Messenger and board member Chad Choate dissenting, to approve Golden’s motion and extend the mandate through October.

For some, the move fell short of protecting students, teachers and residents in Manatee County. Others decried the mandate, even with the opt out clause, calling it tyranny and government overreach.