FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis is doubling down on his support of Florida schools reopening in the fall, despite coronavirus cases still rising in the Sunshine State.
What You Need To Know
- Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to push for schools reopening
- DeSantis stresses cost of keeping school closed is high
- More coronavirus coverage
The latest numbers show over 100 new deaths with the state death toll topping 5,000 people.
DeSantis said the best way to fight the virus is having a healthy, functioning society, and that includes reopening schools.
The governor is also supporting parents and teachers having a choice when going back to school. He also thinks teachers should be given the option to work remotely, if they're not comfortable returning to the classroom.
Gov. DeSantis said the risk to students returning to the classroom is low, but the cost of keeping schools closed is high.
"You can bet your bottom dollar that keeping schools closed will exacerbate achievement gaps between demographic groups, lead to more kids dropping out of school, and disproportionally impact the least economically affluent Floridians," DeSantis expressed.
While DeSantis is stressing that evidence shows schools can reopen safely, Dr. Marcia Katz on UCF's COVID-19 Task Force is still concerned about transmission with in-person learning. Katz points to a new study out of South Korea that shows kids between 10 and 19 can transmit the virus just as easily as adults.
Central Florida's largest school district, Orange County, is still finalizing protocol for containing potential outbreaks.
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