HOLMES BEACH – For the first time since the start of the school year, Manatee County is reporting no new student COVID-19 cases and only one staff case at Ballard Elementary.
COVID in Manatee County
Oct. 29
Cases 210
% Positivity 2.57%
Deaths 161
% Eligible population vaccinated 62.9%
New hospital admissions 19
Nov. 7
Cases 155 (-26.19%)
% Positivity 2.16% (-0.21%)
Deaths 96 (-40.37%)
% Eligible population vaccinated 63.2% (+.02%)
New hospital admissions 13 (-31.58%)
Source: Centers for Disease Control
The 2021-22 school year started with none of the restrictions that had kept students and staff from close contact in 2020-21. This quickly changed when the Delta variant of COVID-19 swept the county and the debate over mask mandates and other COVID-related restrictions quickly began.
At the peak of the Delta variant during late August and early September, county schools were seeing more than 300 new cases in a single week. Cases are now at the lowest since the start of the pandemic in 2020 – zero.
The total COVID-19 cases in Manatee County schools for the year are 2,580 students and 375 staff. At Anna Maria Elementary, there have been a total of 13 student COVID cases this year, – among the lowest in the county – and no staff cases. Only AME and Jain Middle School have had no staff cases this year.
The county mask mandate has expired, and it is unlikely it will return unless COVID returns to AME and other county schools. Other school districts such as Sarasota and Hillsborough counties that had stricter mask mandates that did not include an opt-out clause like Manatee County also have allowed those mandates to expire and show no signs of bringing them back.
