Some local governments are ramping up COVID-19 countermeasures again as the number of confirmed cases crescendo, marking the largest wave yet in the state.
Manatee County closed its six public libraries Aug. 12-22 to quash an outbreak that began at its downtown Central Library, according to administrator Scott Hopes during an Aug. 13 news conference.
Hopes said the outbreak began the week beginning Aug. 9 with six confirmed cases and had resulted in 17 additional cases by the news conference.
“The source may have been an IT worker in neighborhood services, which goes to all of our libraries,” Hopes said. “To ensure that our libraries were not going to be a source of COVID infections to the public, those libraries will be closed for approximately 10 days, allowing us to determine that we have cleared the outbreak in the library system.”
Overall, Hopes reported 23 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 47 potential exposures among county employees over the past week, including some from an outbreak among county utilities staffers.
Hopes added that 45% of the employees who tested positive over the past week were fully vaccinated.
So far, three county employees have died from COVID-19, according to Hopes.
The outbreaks correspond with a recent rise in confirmed cases across the state that resulted in a third wave that has bested predecessors.
On a national level, the third wave pales in comparison to the second, which peaked Jan. 8 with 300,777 new cases across the country, almost doubling the 186,840 new cases recorded Aug. 13, according to The New York Times.
However, the number of newly confirmed cases in Florida hit an all-time peak Aug. 13 at 49,745, toppling the state’s previous record of 19,530 from Jan. 8, according to The NYT.
The Jan. 8 figure marked the peak of the state’s second wave.
The state’s first wave peaked with 13,965 new cases July 16, 2020.
The Florida Department of Health stopped publishing daily COVID-19 case and death reports in June, switching to weekly reports at the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The DOH report for the week of Aug. 6-12 marked 151,415 new cases, which is even higher than the 148,705 new cases reported by the Times for the same period.
As of Aug. 14, the third wave had yet to crest in Florida.
At the end of the news conference, County Commissioner Misty Servia encouraged unvaccinated people to get vaccinated, as well as called for people to wear face masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.
For more information about vaccination against the coronavirus, go to mymanatee.org.
Holmes Beach
Meanwhile, masks are back at Holmes Beach City Hall.
Mayor Judy Titsworth announced at an Aug. 10 meeting that people were once again required to wear face masks in city hall, 5801 Marina Drive, regardless of vaccination status.
“We’re back to wearing masks,” Titsworth said. “You can take off your mask if you’re alone in an office, but if someone walks in, we’re requiring everyone to put the masks back on.”
The procedure was put into practice almost immediately when a man entered the commission chambers without a mask.
Commission Chair Jim Kihm paused the discussion to notify the man that he must wear a mask in city hall or leave, and the man left.
Titsworth said she wanted to coordinate with businesses to encourage the use of face masks.
City commissioners reached a consensus during a work session Aug. 10 to direct Titsworth to craft a resolution asking businesses to encourage masks.
Titsworth told The Islander Aug. 13 that the resolution would be brought before commissioners for approval at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at city hall.
Manatee school district reinstates COVID-19 protocols
Some of the 2020-21 school year’s COVID-19 mitigation strategies are returning for 2021-22.
The School District of Manatee County announced Aug. 12 that it reestablished procedures from the previous year — two days after the new year began.
The reestablished mitigation procedures include:
- Sending home students and employees who display symptoms of the illness until they are symptom-free;
- Taking daily temperature checks for employees and randomly for students;
- Providing and encouraging the use of hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol;
- Deep cleaning and disinfecting schools and school buses daily or in-between uses as needed;
- Making “every effort” to social distance in schools “as much possible;”
- Providing plastic shields in elementary classrooms and cafeterias;
- Limiting nonessential visitors and volunteers to school campuses.
The school district also “strongly” encourages the use of face masks indoors and vaccinations for those who are eligible.
No Anna Maria Elementary students or employees had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Aug. 12, according to the daily exposure reports from the district office.
However, other schools in the district haven’t been so lucky.
There were 76 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among students and employees in the district as of Aug. 12 — up from nine confirmed cases Aug. 10, when the school year began.
The district planned to start reporting confirmed cases online at https://www.manateeschools.net.
— Ryan Paice