As of June 1, the Florida Department of Health has reported 2,320,818 COVID-19 infections and 37,512 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
The latest single-day positivity rate reported by the Florida Division of Emergency Management stood at 4.06% last Wednesday, May 26. Over the past two weeks the single-day positivity rate has ranged between 4.06% and 6.30%.
The Agency for Health Care Administration reports that as of this morning the number of patients with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 admitted to hospitals throughout the state has dropped to 1,889. In Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hendry, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota counties combined there are currently 156 admitted patients with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19.
As of last Friday morning, the Florida Division of Emergency Management reported more than 10 million (10,213,280) people have been vaccinated including more than 2 million (2,025,402) people who have received a first dose, and more than 8.1 million (8,187,878) who have either completed the two-dose series or who have received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Former DOH Data Scientist Receives Whistleblower Status
A former employee with the Florida Department of Health who raised questions about the accuracy of COVID-19 data being reported by the state is getting whistleblower status.
The AP reports, Rebekah Jones was fired from the state health department a year ago for repeatedly violating the department's policy about communicating with the media. Jones is the data scientist who created the state's COVID-19 online dashboard.
State officials claim she was fired for insubordination, according to state records. The Miami Herald reports the Office of the Inspector General told Jones' attorneys on Friday that the information she disclosed meets the criteria for receiving whistleblower status.
Gov. DeSantis Says Florida Will Enforce Anti-Vaccination Passport Law with Cruises
Governor Ron DeSantis says Florida will penalize cruise companies that require proof of vaccination of travelers on board, but the federal government says cruise ships need to follow vaccination requirements in order to restart cruising.
Cruise companies would be fined $5,000 for each customer who must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. DeSantis said a new state law forbids vaccination passports.
“We have laws that protect the people and the privacy of our citizens and we’re going to enforce it. In fact, I have no choice but to enforce it. I took an oath to enforce the law,” said DeSantis.
The new law goes into effect on July 1. Meanwhile, some cruise lines are still working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to restart operations.
Attorneys at the U.S. Justice Department say the federal government may regulate ships in order to control the spread of COVID-19. Federal and state attorneys are now in mediation after Florida filed a lawsuit against the CDC restrictions.
The News Service of Florida reports that a federal judge ordered the two sides to come to an agreement soon.
RAND Study Finds Remote Students Have Lower Achievement in Language Arts & Math
Governor Ron DeSantis and State Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran are taking victory laps after a school year that saw most students end up back in classrooms. DeSantis notes Florida was among the first states to offer in-person schooling during the pandemic.
“Richard and I charted the course for the state, but we had superintendents, principals and teachers all around Florida who understood the importance of getting the kids back in school in person. They understood how this virtual education…just doesn’t cut it,” said DeSantis.A new study from the policy think tank, the RAND Corporation, finds students who attended school remotely during the pandemic had worse outcomes in math and language arts than students who attended a hybrid model and those who went to class in-person.
Manatee County School Board Ends Mask Requirement, Addresses Racist Comments
The Manatee County School Board unanimously voted Friday morning to end its policy of requiring face coverings in school.
The vote amended Section B of Policy 8450, which mandated that all employees, visitors, and students wear a face mask while on school property to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Because the school year ended Thursday, the change means that masks will not be required at graduations or summer school.
But most of Friday’s meeting had nothing to do with masks. Instead, conversation focused on the way the public and board members interacted.
“It just saddens me that the five people who sit up here, who were duly elected to serve in this capacity, are subjected to the verbal abuse that we were subjected to at the last public hearing that we had on this matter,” Vice Chairman Rev. James Golden said.
In a series of meetings leading up to Friday’s vote, board members faced heated pushback from the public about the enforcement of the mask policy. Some of the public comments at the board’s meeting Tuesday included racial slurs.
“I am not going to be called the N-word in public, by the people in this room, and have the people in this room not say anything about it,” Golden, the only Black board member, said. “I’m not comfortable in this room. It's almost as if I'm an invisible man.”
In one instance, Glen Gibellina, a white Manatee County resident, gave Golden a book about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
“We're all human beings, and at the end of the day, we should focus on unity,” Gibellina said. “You know, 100 years ago, we massacred 300 Blacks at Tulsa. I gave you the book, Golden, so I hope you can read it.”
“I don’t need you lecturing me about the massacre of Blacks,” Golden responded.
“Here we go, like this, my three minutes, I should be able to say what I want without any recourse,” Gibellina said, seemingly agitated. “Zero tolerance on my public comment, on my right to redress District Five’s elected official. That's my right, I expect it.”
Gibellina stepped down from the public comment podium and approached Golden’s desk.
“Sorry about the gesture, friend,” Gibellina scoffed as he removed the book from in front of Golden.
In previous meetings, attendees shouted down board members who mentioned federal guidelines and lingering health concerns as a reason for maintaining face coverings to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Parents accused the school board of child abuse, ignoring God's will, and claimed that requiring face coverings was bad for children's physical and mental health.
Board Chairman Charlie Kennedy ordered several recesses in response.
“The last two meetings were the roughest public meetings I think any of us have ever been or will be a part of,” Kennedy said. “It is unfortunate that people feel the need to address each other this way. It never works with me.”
Kennedy also responded to Golden’s accusations about the board not defending him against racist remarks.
“I thought the signal that I got from you was just ‘let's continue,’” Kennedy said. “And so, if I misread your signal to continue the meeting, I apologize for that. It’s just disgusting that people talk to each other in that way.”
“What kind of board is this that allows somebody to sit in a meeting and use an N-word and nobody raises their voices? Not once, but twice,” Golden responded. “So yeah, you misread me, I am never supportive of anybody being disrespectful of anybody for any reason, that's just not necessary.”
Golden said that he pushed through the targeted remarks in service of the students and constituents that were not represented in the meeting room.
The school board will continue to monitor COVID-19 in schools and camps during the summer.
“Because it's still a reportable communicable disease, we'll have the data month after month moving through the summer to know what the changes will result in,” board member Scott Hopes said.
This was Hopes final meeting as a member of the board, as he was formally named permanent Administrator for Manatee County earlier this week.
How COVID (Almost) Reshaped Florida Agriculture, And Why It Still Might
For a moment it looked like a major shift was underway in Florida agriculture, as more local produce was consumed locally. It didn't completely pan out but hopes remain high.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first took hold in the United States, Florida was the only state that was in the middle of its primary harvest season. Thanks to the state’s southern latitude, while most of the country is in its winter and early spring months, Florida farmers are busy planting and harvesting tomatoes, squash, eggplant, bell peppers, papaya, strawberries and more.
But as restaurants closed down across the nation, supply chains were broken. Farmers found themselves without anywhere to send their produce and literally tons of food ended up going to waste.
Sam Accursio, a longtime farmer of land in South Dade, destroyed much of his harvest. Paying workers to pick the produce didn’t make financial sense if there was nowhere to sell it to and local food banks were already overwhelmed with the amount of local produce they were given.
Then he had an idea.
If Accursio couldn't ship his produce hundreds of miles away, he decided to start selling his produce locally. The idea took off and long lines of cars started to line up at his farm to buy boxes of tomatoes, squash and other items.
“You know it’s a win-win,” he told WLRN last year. “The farmer is at least getting some of his cost back, but the consumer is getting produce that is so fresh and so cheap. They don’t see these type of prices in the store level.”
For a moment it looked like a major shift was underway. Locals were reconnecting with local agriculture in a way that had not been seen in years.
“You’re going to start seeing a change in human behavior, even after COVID, which I keep saying is almost a silver lining in all of this,” Nikki Fried, Florida’s Democratic agriculture commissioner told WLRN at the time.
Fried hoped the shift in behavior could put more money in the pockets of struggling Florida farmers who, unlike the rest of the nation, compete directly with the Mexican growing season due to the state’s latitude and the nations’ mutual free trade agreement.
Her office set up a public website where farmers could post what they have for sale by county. It was such a hit that the Department of Agriculture is revamping and updating the site right now, said Fried.
But the most enthusiasm in the state seemed to coalesce around a pilot program that brought local Florida produce to the state’s massive prison system.
The pilot only lasted a few weeks, but saved taxpayers more than $25,000 compared to the produce usually shipped in from California and Mexico. The number is not huge but when stretched across a full year, and considering that more of the state government money was staying local and it proved cheaper than produce shipped from afar, the idea had legs.
“Why would you not want to take state dollars and reinvest it in our state and our farmers and our jobs?” Fried asked last year. “I think you’re starting to see a lot more of that.”
This was the height of optimism. But the program turned out to only be a one-time deal. A bill was filed in the Legislature to make this kind of program permanent — not just in the prison system — but in other state agencies. And then reality set it. The bill died in committee.
“Which is very disappointing,” said Fried. “So now we’re going to have to spend more time educating those agencies and really getting them in touch with their local farmers and working with them to do purchasing at the local level.”
WHY THE POPULAR PILOT PROGRAM FIZZLED
Once the pilot program was underway, the biggest problem to solve was transportation. Florida has farmers across the state, offering everything from corn and tomatoes to dairy, eggs and berries. The question was how to get the goods into prisons while meeting requirements specific to the prison system, including stipulations for things like no staples being allowed on crates.
Growers and farmer groups got to work to figure it out. Jenn Bynoe, an agricultural consultant who was working with the Dade County Farm Bureau at the time, played an important role in solving the puzzle.
“This program was unique because it was able to handle the logistics and the requirements of picking, packing and shipping that was needed to support the Department of Corrections,” she said. “And we did it within just a few weeks.”
What allowed the Farm-To-Prison Pilot Program to take off in the first place was an executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March of last year. It let state agencies do unorthodox things — like buy food directly from growers — when it came to their supply chains, because of the pandemic.
“Unfortunately, once that executive order came to a close, the producers were no longer to engage with the Department of Corrections,” Bynoe said.
In a statement to WLRN, the Department of Corrections said it has since “reverted to normal business practices” for buying food, which typically runs through a single contract with Florida-based company Cheney Brothers. State records show much of the produce also grown by Florida growers is shipped in from Mexico, although some of it is locally sourced.
The department said local growers are welcome to forge their own relationships with Cheney Brothers, or that they are able to submit their own bids for contracts when they open.
“The agencies don’t get to think outside the box,” said Fried. “A lot of them have the person inside their agencies that do purchasing that have developed relationships with these separate vendor contracts and companies, and they don’t like change, and it might take a little bit extra work to be thinking outside the box and to find where the local produce is grown.”
In Florida political circles, Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes is known as a top advocate for improving the state prison system. The St. Petersburg Republican works closely with the Department of Corrections, and he spearheaded the Farm-To-Prison Pilot Program.
Brandes said the prison system is completely overwhelmed. The Department of Corrections houses about 96,000 inmates and has perpetual issues of underfunding and high-rates of employee turnover. The corrections department is, by far, the largest department of the state government.
“We need to make it easy for them to do the right thing. And then they’re going to do the right thing,” said Brandes, speaking about buying more local produce. “When we talk about adding more things to what they’re already managing, they’re juggling knives. And so, you’re throwing extra things in there for them to continue to juggle and manage and those tend to get pushed to the side, especially in years when we’re not trying to help both parties.”
The right political timing is important to address the issue, stressed Brandes. And while there’s bipartisan support for sourcing more produce locally, political leadership needs to take up the mantle.
“Really what we’re talking about is the budget,” said Brandes. “What we need is just a commitment to ensuring that when we’re purchasing fruits and vegetables we’re looking at Florida first.”
The bill that would have made these kinds of programs permanent passed the Agriculture Committee in the Florida Senate unanimously, with both Republican and Democratic support. The sponsor of that bill was fellow St. Petersburg state Sen. Darryl Rouson, the Democratic chairman of the Agriculture Committee.
“It would require state agencies, universities and colleges to give preference to food commodities grown or produced in the state,” Rouson said.
In addition to giving preference to local produce, the bill would have created an explicit state goal that at least 15% of food commodities bought by state agencies would come from Florida farmers by 2030.
“I think that would have been a game changer in terms of local markets,” Rouson said.
There were a number of other provisions in the bill, including a section that would have made breakfast free for all elementary school students in the state and create grant programs to start and support local food pantries using local produce.
Rouson said, behind the scenes, there were worries about the total cost of the bill, especially amid widespread worries that the state was going to be short on money due to the pandemic.
“As it turned out we had a lot of extra money,” said Rouson. “We’re going to come back at this next year. Sometimes it takes a couple of sessions to get a good idea through.”
‘I THINK IT’S HERE TO STAY’
South Dade farmer Sam Accursio sold produce to the prison program and said not extending that is a huge missed opportunity for the state, and for farmers in general.
But in other ways, Accursio said the pandemic did bring other welcome changes.
This growing season he set up a mini market right on his farm to sell boxes of food directly to people in South Florida. Unlike in 2020, when it was unclear how the coronavirus was transmitted, people can walk up to the market he set up this year.
And the market itself is a carryover from what he started at the very beginning of the pandemic.
“We were building on the network that we created because there was such a following and such a need for cheap, affordable food,” Accursio said.
Emergency Officials Urge People to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19 As Part of Hurricane Prep
The sales tax holiday for hurricane supplies starts Friday. Hurricane season begins Tuesday. Emergency officials are encouraging people not to wait to make a hurricane plan — and that includes getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
Make sure you have food and water for several days, medications, batteries for flashlights ... and your filled-out COVID-19 vaccination card.
These are just some of the things emergency officials are encouraging people to have on hand to prepare for the start of the 2021 hurricane season on Tuesday, June 1.
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz brought emergency agencies together, virtually, on Friday for her annual briefing ahead of Hurricane Season.
During the briefing, the South Florida Democrat underscored that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a form of hurricane preparedness:
"If you are possibly going to need to evacuate — making sure that you are vaccinated so that you are even more protected is going to be essential," Wasserman Schultz said.
This year the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an "above average" storm season with 13-20 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes, and 3-5 major hurricanes.
The Broward County Director of Regional Emergency Services & Communications, Tracy Jackson, also encouraged people to think about getting vaccinated. He said that pandemic safety will still be required at any county shelters that may open this storm season.
"This policy's being formulated, but you need to know that at this point that we're going to require masks," Jackson said. "There will be some temperature checks. We've already loaded up PPE for as many shelters as we could possibly open."
Before then, Floridians can shop for hurricane supplies tax-free for a week, starting Friday.
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