As students head into winter break, COVID numbers rising in Miami, Broward, Keys schools
The day before South Florida public school students were set to go on their two-week winter break, cases of COVID-19 among pupils and staff continue to rise.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed that 1,811 students and 830 employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of Thursday. The 2,641 cases reflect the total numbers since Miami-Dade public school students and teachers returned to in-person classes on Oct. 5.
The case numbers are posted on the school district’s online COVID-19 dashboard. The number of actual cases is likely higher, however, because the Department of Health must confirm self-reported diagnoses before they are added to the ledger.
The day with the most confirmed cases was last Friday, Dec. 11, when 119 students and 39 staff members were added to the list.
The schools with the highest number of cases are Eugenia B. Thompson K-8 Center (42), John I. Smith K-8 Center (39), John A. Ferguson Senior High (36), TERRA Environmental Research Institute (36) and Coral Reef Senior High (34).
Miami-Dade officials estimate about half of the district’s roughly 255,000 students opted to return to brick-and-mortar schools when schools reopened their classrooms in the fall. The rest continue to learn virtually.
Broward County Public Schools returned to in-school learning on Oct. 9. Since then, 595 students and 578 teachers and staff members, for a total of 1,173 cases, have been confirmed by the Health Department to have tested positive for COVID-19.
About a quarter of Broward’s public school student population returned to in-person learning since the fall, officials say.
The day the district added the most cases to its dashboard was Thursday, Dec. 3, when 20 students and 20 staff members were confirmed positive.
The Broward schools with the most cases are Western High (35), Miramar High (28), Cypress Bay High (27), Fort Lauderdale High (24) and Cooper City High (19).
Schools in the Florida Keys allowed in-person learning since the beginning of the academic year in late August. Since then, the Department of Health confirmed 97 students tested positive for COVID-19 and 40 staff members.
The Monroe County schools with the most cases are Key West High (31), Marathon Middle/High (18), Horace O’Bryant School (12), Coral Shores High School (10) and Plantation Key School (10).
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 6:50 PM.
