Florida tells health officials not to release coronavirus data about schools

Local health officials are barred from releasing detailed information about new COVID -19 cases in public schools because of privacy rules, a local health official said Thursday.

The number of students and school staff who are infected — or whether infections are being transmitted in classrooms — will no longer be released by health officials, Dr. Raul Pino, the state’s health officer in Orange County, said at a Thursday briefing.

That’s a departure from earlier this week when Pino released the number of cases associated with schools as well as the number of students and staff under precautionary quarantine and a

list of affected schools.

On Monday he noted that the health department was investigating its first potential case of student-to-teacher transmission, critical information for parents as they decide whether to send their children to face-toface classes in the midst of a global pandemic. But on Thursday, Pino said he couldn’t disclose any more details about that case and whether the health department had drawn a conclusion about how the transmission occurred.

“Because it’s confidential information, I can’t continue to release that data to the public in that format,” said Dr. Raul Pino, the local state health officer.

Orange County Public Schools spokesman Scott Howat said the district will continue to release data to the public on Tuesdays and Fridays through social media and, eventually, a designated section of the district’s website.

Orange’s plan is similar to one launched by public school officials in Volusia, who said “The Florida Department of Education has requested COVID-19 reporting at the district level,” according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. But it’s not clear if each district will release the same information or how detailed that information will be.

As of Tuesday, Orange County had 59 students and staff with

COVID-19. Howat said Thursday the district had 198 students and 22 staffers in quarantine, which means they could have been exposed to an infected person and are being asked to stay home for two weeks as a precaution to help stop the spread.

The Sentinel reported earlier this week that nearly 450 Central Florida public school students and staff are in quarantine after positive COVID-19 tests were reported from their schools. In addition to Orange, that total includes 158 in Seminole County, at least 72 in Osceola County and at least19 in Lake County. Some students and staff quarantined in Osceola and Lake last week could remain so this week, but they are not included in their county totals reported this week.

The quarantine total doesn’t count another 595 students who were sent home last week when an Osceola middle school closed.

Harmony Middle School shut down for two weeks after a group of teachers tested positive or were waiting on test results.

Overall, Pino said masks and other preventative measures such as social distancing appeared to be working in Orange schools.

“I’m actually pleasantly surprised,” he said, though students have only met in face-to-face classes for 10 days.

The clampdown on information about schools came as Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond announced the latest collections of the tourist tax — just $5.2 million for July, a 77% decline over the same month last year, but a marked improvement over June when less than $3 million was collected.

Diamond said the county’s financial well-being is tied to its physical health. The increase from the 6% levy on hotel rooms from June to July reflects the reopening of Walt Disney World, though at a reduced capacity.

Before the pandemic, Orange was on track for another record year for tourism. But on Thursday, Diamond applauded a recent decision by Mayor Jerry Demings to halt all work on an expansion of the county’s giant convention center, which is funded by tourist taxes.

The dismal collections forced the county to pull nearly $21.8 million from its reserves to cover its bills.

“It’s important to minimize the drawdown given the uncertainty of when the tourism industry will recover,” Diamond said, noting current collections are “far less than what we need to pay our bills every month, quite honestly.”

Still, officials’ spirits appeared buoyed by the continued decline in new coronavirus infections across the community.

State data shows about 4.88% of tests came back positive Wednesday in Orange County, one of the lowest levels seen this summer.

Demings and Pino cautioned residents to continue wearing masks, washing hands and keeping distance from others as they go about barbecues or other activities during the long Labor Day weekend.

“We can go to the beach, we can have a barbecue, we can have friends over as long as we keep those measures in place,” Pino said. “We know they work because they’ve worked here.”

In addition, to declining case numbers seen after Orange began requiring people to wear masks, Demings’ executive order on face coverings got another boost on Thursday.

Circuit Court Judge Lisa Munyon upheld his order in a blow to state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, Orange County GOP Chair Charles Hart and conservative attorney John Stemberger, who argued that masks are a medical device and the “forced use of a medical device violates his Florida right to privacy.”

Munyon rejected that argument.

“Plaintiff ’s position would lead to an absurd result,” she wrote in her ruling. “It would prevent any government from addressing new health threats with mandatory regulations until years of clinical study support the decision.”

Demings said the ruling was “common sense.”

“These types of lawsuits waste valuable time and resources for local governments,” he said.