Florida Schools Reverse Mask Mandates After Ron DeSantis Threatens Funding
Two Florida school districts have dropped their face mask mandates after Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order last week threatening funding, as hospitalizations from COVID reach record levels in the state.
Amid rising COVID cases in the area due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the Broward County School Board voted last week to implement a face mask policy in its facilities.
However on Friday, DeSantis issued an executive order aimed that could result in funds being withheld from Floridian schools that requiring students to wear face masks.
On Monday—just a few days after the order—the Broward County school district confirmed to WTVT that it was reversing its mask mandate and now "intends to comply with the governor's latest executive order."
Broward County was not the only school district to remove its face mask mandate on Monday, as Gadsden County also confirmed that it was reversing the requirement that it only brought in last week ahead of the new school year.
"Gadsden County Schools will do as much as we can to follow CDC guidelines as the governor will allow," a spokesperson for the district told WTVT, seemingly referencing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation last week that teachers and students wear face masks in schools.
The face mask reversals come as Florida is being badly affected by the highly contagious Delta variant, with the state reporting on Monday its record number of hospitalizations from the virus since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
On Monday, the Florida Hospital Association reported 10,389 hospitalizations from COVID in the state, a new record, while over the weekend Florida recorded 21,683 new cases, breaking its previous record of 19,334 that were reported on January 7.
The worst affected areas in the state for new COVID cases and hospitalizations are Miami-Dade County and Broward County. Last week they reported 15,541 and 9,094 positive tests respectively, according to the Florida Department of Health.
A report published by the White House found that both counties were also reporting more than 800 new hospitalizations from COVID last week, making them the two worst affected areas in the country.
During a press conference on Monday about the figures, Broward County Mayor Steve Geller said: "Unfortunately, Dade and Broward County lead the nation in hospitalizations," and added: "The numbers are doubling every 10 or 11 days. Geometric progression. This is horrifying."
Although the figures for Gadsden County are much lower due to the area only having a population of around 45,000 people, CDC data shows that COVID hospitalizations in the county increased by 360 percent over the last 14 days.
Amid the rising cases, the Florida Education Association, a teacher's union, said that it opposes DeSantis' executive order, releasing a statement saying that "Gov. DeSantis has made clear he does not respect the freedom of locally elected officials to do what they feel is best for their communities."
Newsweek has contacted DeSantis, the Broward County school district and the Gadsden County school district for comment.
