HOLMES BEACH – Only 10 days into the 2021-22 school year and as the debate over mask mandates and mandatory staff vaccinations heats up, Anna Maria Elementary has reported two confirmed cases of students testing positive for COVID-19, according to the School District of Manatee County.
Two cases of COVID-19 were reported at AME last school year; one in November 2020 and one in February 2021.
The Manatee County School Board issued a temporary mask mandate on Monday, Aug. 16 requiring all students and staff to wear masks while on campus. The mandate expires on Aug. 25 and it is expected the board will consider extending it during its Tuesday, Aug. 24 meeting. Since the board included an opt-out clause in the mandate, any student or staff member who doesn’t want to wear a mask doesn’t have to, making it essentially meaningless.
Currently, Manatee County is reporting 682 students testing positive and 143 staff cases countywide. There were 130 new cases as of Friday, Aug. 20, the second week of school, up from 178 total staff and student cases at the end of the first week of school, a 363% increase.
Sarasota County passed a mandate without an opt-out clause on Friday, Aug. 20 during a special board meeting. Sarasota County reports 778 student COVID-19 cases since the start of the school year and 168 cases of staff members testing positive. DeSantis remarked that the mandate was illegal while speaking at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton the following day.
Recently, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to have a mandate with no opt-out clause that is in effect through Friday, Sept. 17. The mandate is illegal under state law and drew the attention of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said, “The forced masking of schoolchildren infringes upon parents’ rights to make health and educational decisions for their own children.”
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