McKeel Academy staff issued mask mandate after 12 positive COVID cases theledger.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theledger.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
BARTOW Polk County Public Schools students and staff will still be required to wear facial coverings through the end of the school year, despite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issuing several executive orders this week rescinding any local emergency orders regarding masks and social distancing.
Executive Order 21-101 states “any emergency order issued by a political subdivision due to the COVID-19 emergency which restricts the rights or liberties of individuals or their businesses is invalidated. Nothing herein prohibits a political subdivision of the State from enacting ordinances pursuant to regular enactment procedures to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its local population. Only the COVID-19 emergency orders. enacted prior to July 1, 2021, are hereby invalidated. This order is effective beginning on July 1, 2021.”
BARTOW Florida and Polk County are seeing record numbers of COVID-19 cases again, but Polk County Public Schools officials say there is no deadline for parents to decide whether their child should attend in-person classes or learn online from home.
Tuesday marked the first day back to school following the winter break, days after Florida saw an alarming weeklong surge in cases rising 26.4% with 90,245 cases reported last week. The previous week had 71,423 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. As of Monday, 4,385 Polk County children, including those younger than 5, had contracted the virus.
More than 175 Polk County schools, including public, charter and private schools, have had COVID-19 cases, according to a state database. The high schools have been particularly hard hit, with Bartow Senior High reporting 44 cases, Winter Haven Senior High reporting 41, Ridge Community High at 36 cases and McKeel Academy of Technology a middle and high cha