PALM BAY, Fla. – In its latest COVID-19 dashboard released Tuesday, Brevard Public Schools reported more than 300 new cases - with 293 being from students, and 69 employees.
The school district also reported more than 3,000 quarantines, which resulted in canceling football games Friday for Astronaut High School in Titusville and Satellite Beach High School. But Bayside High School said Thursday night’s game is on.
The Bears are hosting Seabreeze High School from Daytona Beach.
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According to the dashboard, Bayside has fewer COVID-19 quarantines than Astronaut and Satellite Beach — the school district reports Astronaut has 223, Satellite has 182 and Bayside has 136 quarantines.
The numbers for each school do not specify how many are football players.
School board member Jennifer Jenkins mentioned that the district’s COVID numbers were ‘significantly lower’ last year than now. Jenkins said she’s still trying to get the rest of the school board’s support for an emergency meeting on mask-wearing in schools.
Last week, her proposal to reinstate the district’s mask mandate failed by a 3-2 vote. Jenkins believes a mandate would lower cases and quarantines.
“I believe it’s my obligation to do everything I can to keep our students and our staff safe,” Jenkins said.
Meanwhile, Bayside parent Solomon Johnson believes his daughter is safe in school without a mask.
“We have no fear of COVID,” Johnson said.
The father gave his support for athletic events being played.
“One of the best things for these kids is to be out here and be active, be out here in the sunlight,” Johnson said.
A school district spokesperson said because the game is outdoors, there will be no special protocols. The district also said the decision to cancel a game comes down to whether or not a school can field a team.