COVID cases top 200 in Miami-Dade Schools

At the end of the business day Friday, the MiamiDade County school system reported its confirmed cases of COVID-19 had topped 200.

Actual cases are likely significantly higher because there is a lag between when a student or staff member self reports to the individual school and when the Florida Department of Health confirms the diagnosis.

Only then does the case get placed on the MiamiDade public school district’s online coronavirus dashboard.

The official breakdown Friday was 135 students and 67 staff members, for a total of 202 cases.

Among the schools with the most cases: Miami Senior High (8 cases), Kendale Lakes Elementary (7) and Miami Lakes K-8 Center (6).

The district said in an emailed statement Friday that it expects schools will have more COVID cases as the academic year progresses, but it is “extremely proactive and implementing all necessary mitigation measures as soon as cases are reported.”

Slightly more than half of the district’s 255,000 students opted to go back to in-person learning when schools opened their doors

Oct. 5.

Broward and Monroe counties have the same policy for their respective online ledgers tracking the virus in their public schools.

The Florida Department of Health also released a summary this week of COVID cases in all Florida schools as of Oct. 17, including private and charter schools. Charters are funded through the public school system but operate independently, often by a for-profit corporation.

According to the DOH list, 28 charter school students and staff in 23 MiamiDade charter schools have tested positive for COVID-19 this academic year. Among private schools in the county, the number is much higher, 95 employees and students in 46 facilities.

Some of the individual private school numbers are significantly higher than those in the public and charter schools, according to the DOH list. For example, while some public schools have had as many as six cases, Divine Savior Lutheran Academy in Doral has had 11 cases between Sept. 6 and Oct. 17, the list shows.

An emailed request for comment on the school’s COVID protocol was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.

Other Miami-Dade schools that had more than five cases include Florida Christian (7 cases), St. Kevin Catholic School (6) and Mesivta of Greater Miami (6), according to the Health Department record.

Meanwhile, Broward County’s school district, which updates its COVID cases every Tuesday and Friday, reported 106 confirmed cases, up from 72 cases earlier in the week.

The breakdown was 60 staff and 46 students.

Monroe County, which includes all of the Florida Keys, reported only one more case than it confirmed Tuesday.

The total count in the island chain is 15 students and three staff members, including one teacher, according to that school system’s dashboard.