Positive cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, both globally and locally.
The World Health Organization, as of the morning of Nov. 16, reported 53.8 million positive cases and 1.3 million deaths.
Cases were approaching the 11 million-mark in the United States, with about 245,000 deaths, according to a report the same day by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Florida, the Department of Health reported a total of 885,201 cases, including 872,810 residents. The state has charted 13,518 resident deaths and 216 non-residents.
Hillsborough County totals were 52,572 positive cases of residents and 335 non-residents. The county reported 857 deaths.
Pasco County’s figures stood at 12,425 positive cases among residents, and 122 in non-residents. It also has recorded 259 deaths.
Hillsborough County Schools reported 791 students had tested positive for the virus, while the figure stood at 559 for employees — bringing the district’s total to 1,350.
In Pasco County Schools, as of Nov. 16, there had been 391 student cases and 144 staff cases. A total of 7,053 students were impacted by those testing positive, as were 633 staff members.
The district reports the number of positive cases, and the numbers of staff and students who are required to quarantine because of exposure.
The Pasco County School Board and the Florida Department of Health-Pasco County were set to discuss the school district’s COVID-19 response during a board workshop set for the afternoon of Nov. 17. The workshop will occur after The Laker/Lutz News press deadline.
The school board also is scheduled to consider a change to district policy to continue the current mask mandate until the end of the 2020-2021 school year.
The proposed rule “is required to protect the health, safety and welfare of students and staff,” according to background materials contained in the school board’s agenda.
The rule “mandates and requires that all employees, contractors, visitors, and students wear a mask or other face covering while on school property and/or engaged in school activities.”
The mandate also “requires that proper social distancing must always be observed to the maximum extent possible.”
The rule also requires that “whenever feasible and possible, students, staff, and visitors must remain six (6) feet away from persons that are not members of their household.”
Published November 18, 2020
