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Florida’s new COVID-19 cases continued to trend lower on Wednesday as the state posted the third consecutive day below 20,000 cases with 19,048 new diagnosed cases. That’s also dropped Florida’s weekly trend below 20,000 for the first time since August 8th. COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped for the eighth straight day on Wednesday with 15,177 patients currently hospitalized with the virus. That’s an improvement of about 200 over Tuesday.
The Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County School Districts remained indignant with regard to school mask mandates without parental opt-outs. The state provided both school districts with a Wednesday deadline to provide a response as to why they’re violating state law by continuing to impose mask mandates. Both districts stated they’re needed and are in compliance with state law. They risk joining Alachua and Broward with funding reductions due to the mandates. While Judge John Cooper ruled in favor of school mask mandates orally on Friday, he’s not issued a formal ruling and the state’s intent on moving forward with discipline for offending districts.
My analysis of Palm Beach County’s School District’s COVID-19 database has revealed a 62% increase in students who contracted COVID-19 after the district imposed a school mask mandate without a parental opt-out when compared to the days in which masking was optional.