Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
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5:23 » Good morning, the July 30, 2020 work session is now in
5:26 session.
5:27 We’ve called this meeting to discuss some metrics for reopening
5:29 our schools.
5:30 Pam, roll call, please.
5:33 » Mrs. Belford.
5:34 » Present.
5:36 » Ms. McDougall.
5:36 » Present.
5:39 » Mrs. Deskevich.
5:41 » Present.
5:41 » Mrs. Campbell.
5:43 » Present.
5:43 » Mr. Susan.
5:44 » Present.
5:45 » Please join us in saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
5:47 » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
5:52 America.
5:53 And to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
5:58 indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
6:04 » Okay, the Department of Health has asked to take a few
6:06 minutes to review
6:07 the data dashboard for the public and to answer any questions we
6:10 have.
6:11 I invite Department of Health Administrator Maria Stahl and
6:13 Barry Inman, epidemiologist with the Florida Department of
6:16 Health,
6:17 to please come to the podium.
6:21 » If it’s okay, I’m gonna drive at the podium and
6:23 they’re gonna present from their tables, does that work?
6:25 » Perfect, thank you.
6:26 » And Maria, I know that another member of your team is here,
6:30 so
6:30 I wanted to give you an opportunity to introduce them as well.
6:32 » And I’ll just take this off as I’m sitting here for ease of
6:35 talking.
6:36 And did I turn this on right?
6:38 » It’s on, just pull it really close to your mouth, Ms. Stahl.
6:41 » Okay, all right.
6:43 Yes, we have John Davis with us.
6:45 John Davis is the Assistant Community Health Director, so he’s
6:49 here.
6:50 So hopefully with the three of us, one of the three of us can
6:52 answer
6:53 the questions you have.
6:56 The few things I wanted to start out with, and we’ll go ahead
6:59 and
6:59 review what’s actually on the daily report.
7:03 This report that Chris is pulling up is
7:06 a report that is updated about 11 o’clock every day.
7:11 And for the most part, it gives a week to two week trending of
7:15 data.
7:16 The one thing I wanted to reiterate is our relationship with
7:20 central office
7:21 is to let everyone know that we are not really a local health
7:25 department.
7:26 The state of Florida does not have local health departments.
7:29 The state of Florida has a state health department,
7:31 of which we are a piece of them.
7:35 So primarily how the breakdown is,
7:38 is the state is the one that does all these reports and all
7:41 these statistics.
7:42 The state has the biostatisticians, they do all that work.
7:46 We do the groundwork.
7:48 We do all the groundwork, the policies we take from our experts
7:55 in Tallahassee.
7:56 So what we do in the world of COVID here or
8:00 in the world of all epidemiology investigations is we do the
8:04 case
8:04 investigations, we do the interviews, we do the contact tracing.
8:09 We look at the local data that’s been put out by the state to
8:13 see what’s actually
8:14 going on and Barry probably knows what’s going on before the
8:18 report even comes out.
8:20 So the first thing is you look on this report and you see the
8:23 total number of
8:24 cases, and this probably some of the stuff I might be saying
8:28 might be yesterday’s
8:29 data, but the total cases today is 5,333 cases.
8:37 Cases themselves don’t mean a whole lot because I’m sure if you
8:42 heard in the media,
8:43 the more testing you do, the more cases you’re gonna have.
8:46 So cases, yes, are important, but not as important as looking at
8:51 positivity rate
8:52 and some of the other things that we have going out there.
8:55 The other thing that’s important is don’t look at one day
8:59 because we need to look at trends.
9:02 The cases that are reported out are primarily the labs that are
9:08 reported out
9:08 for any given day.
9:10 So as the labs are backlogged and then they’re getting caught up
9:14 and
9:14 they do lab dumps, you may see a huge increase on one day.
9:19 And sometimes we do see that.
9:20 On Sundays or Mondays, we’ll see the huge, what we call a lab
9:23 dump.
9:24 So that’s why it’s not real super valid to be looking at numbers
9:29 of cases,
9:30 we need to look at trends.
9:32 But if you look at the report here, it does break it up by
9:34 Florida residents,
9:35 Florida non-residents, men, women, the medium age range.
9:41 It has, I was in 716 there on this report, but the number of
9:47 cases reported out per
9:49 day, and it has the median age of the cases reported out for
9:53 that day.
9:55 And then it does break it out into race ethnicity.
9:58 Over on the right there, you’ll see our deaths.
10:02 We’re at 108 deaths, and I can tell you about 40% of those
10:06 deaths
10:07 are specifically related to long-term care facilities.
10:12 Our death range right now is between 51 and 103, you said Barry,
10:19 was yesterday 103.
10:21 So that is our age range.
10:23 And if you see down a little bit further,
10:26 you can see there where it’s actually broken down by ages for
10:30 the death right there.
10:32 On the second page of this report, it actually has our labs.
10:37 And this is the thing that’s important to look at.
10:40 The top line there shows all the labs that got reported out.
10:46 And let me explain a little bit, is anyone that comes in,
10:49 if they have three positive tests, they only get reported once.
10:53 Their first lab gets reported, okay?
10:56 And we do see that sometimes as some businesses return to work,
11:00 want to have them have two negatives, which people are getting
11:05 away from that a little bit.
11:06 But if they come in and have three positives, they’re only
11:10 reported here once.
11:11 It’s the first time they test positive.
11:13 But you can see, and this is a two-week trend here, for every
11:18 day,
11:18 how many labs reported out that day and what the positivity rate
11:23 was for that day.
11:25 It also has the number that were actually positive.
11:29 So you can see on 7/29, which was yesterday,
11:32 we had 1,255 labs report out at a 6.1% in 81 positives.
11:40 What’s important here is not to look at any given day but look
11:43 at the trend.
11:44 So if you look at our trend over the last two weeks, we’re
11:48 actually doing very well.
11:51 Our low was, what, 5.3, and our high was 9.8.
11:57 But the 9.8 was an isolated just one day there.
12:01 So we do need to look at trends.
12:03 What we’re looking for is to stay in the single digits.
12:06 So we want to stay under 10.
12:08 If we see ourselves trending up or above 10,
12:11 that’s something that we really need to look out a little bit.
12:15 And the next part of this report actually shows the hospital
12:21 admissions, okay?
12:23 So that shows the trending of the ED visits for cough, fever,
12:27 shortness of breath,
12:29 cough-associated admissions, and then the weekly counts on the
12:35 second part of it.
12:36 So that’s that page that comes out every day.
12:40 It’s actually updated every single day.
12:43 Chris, can you pull up the pediatric report, which is on the
12:47 main page?
12:48 The pediatric report is only updated once a week.
12:55 And on this pediatric report, you can see it starts out with the
13:00 age range of cases.
13:02 And this is the report that the other report, I think, had a 15
13:06 to 24 age group.
13:08 This report actually shows under 18.
13:11 So you’re really getting the school-age population there, anyone
13:15 up to the age of 18.
13:16 If you scroll down and it’s broken out by county, you can see we
13:22 have had 274 cases.
13:26 We’ve tested a total of 3,613 at a 7.6 positivity rate.
13:33 And that’s an overall.
13:34 That’s not a one-week.
13:35 That’s overall since the very beginning.
13:38 And you can see us in comparison to other counties.
13:43 I can tell you the counties in the region with the overall positivity
13:46 rate were lower.
13:48 Were lower than any of them.
13:51 So that breaks that out.
13:52 And then the bottom part of the report shows the multi-inflammatory
13:57 disorder in the pediatric
13:59 patients.
14:00 And you can see Brevard has no one listed there.
14:03 We keep that, but we don’t have anyone listed there.
14:08 So the other thing I wanted to say is right now our labs,
14:13 depending on the lab, we have
14:16 LabCorp.
14:17 We have Quest.
14:18 We have some private labs.
14:19 We have the state lab.
14:22 Primarily it’s taken between five and 14 days right now for our
14:26 labs to report out.
14:28 I can say also for priority testings that we send to the state
14:32 lab, we do get a little
14:33 faster turnaround.
14:35 And that’s the health care workers and the first responders that
14:38 we send to the state
14:39 lab.
14:41 As I said, it’s the trends we need to look at.
14:45 Let’s see what else I have here.
14:47 I said that target.
14:49 Okay.
14:50 I know you’re all concerned about the communicability, spread of
14:55 communicability rate.
14:57 What I can say is the only thing I can tell you on there right
15:00 now is the state is calculating
15:02 it as a state.
15:04 The state, although, as I say this, listen to the whole thing.
15:09 What we want is we want it to be under one, okay?
15:14 Less than one shows less chance of spread.
15:17 Greater than one shows a greater chance of spread.
15:21 The state as a whole is .93.
15:25 That’s including our, and as I say, our top three.
15:27 Our top three are Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.
15:31 Never included in that.
15:33 So it’s a .93, which is less than one, which is actually good as
15:39 a state.
15:40 We are definitely in a stable pattern now.
15:43 The three things we need to be looking at are positivity rate,
15:46 hospital admissions and
15:48 deaths, not hospital admissions, but those in the hospital.
15:53 Our hospital capacity is doing very well.
15:58 There is a state public ACA site that anyone can look at.
16:03 Chris, I can send you that link, and you can send it out to
16:07 everyone, but the positivity
16:09 rate has been running 20 to 25 percent for both hospital and ICU
16:15 capacity with all of
16:16 our hospitals as a whole.
16:19 So that’s doing very well, and when you look at the ICU capacity,
16:23 remember the hospitals
16:25 have the ability to convert regular beds to ICU.
16:29 They can do that, and they do that with their internal surge.
16:33 So hospitals are doing well.
16:35 If any of you have been watching the reports, you will see our
16:39 deaths are up.
16:40 Our deaths are up specifically this week, and what I can say is
16:45 deaths, when you see
16:47 deaths, you have to look back at your cases a couple weeks ago,
16:50 and that’s exactly what
16:52 we’re seeing.
16:53 We’ve seen an increase of cases since July 1st.
16:56 Primarily, a lot of the cases have been in our long-term care
16:59 facilities, and that’s
17:01 our most vulnerable of vulnerable population, and that’s truly
17:06 what we’re seeing.
17:07 So we need to definitely, which was in the school district plan,
17:12 which is excellent,
17:14 the first thing is stay home if you’re sick, and that’s for
17:18 anybody, not just our students,
17:20 but we need to stay home if you’re sick.
17:23 We have seen cases come out of somebody that just feels they
17:26 have a little sinus infection.
17:28 Well, guess what?
17:30 It’s not a little sinus infection, it comes out as COVID
17:33 positive.
17:34 So really need to stay home if you’re sick.
17:37 You need to wear masks if you can’t maintain social distancing.
17:43 Masking is very, very important.
17:45 The latest advisory from the Surgeon General is for social
17:49 gatherings, avoiding groups
17:52 greater than 10, and hand hygiene.
17:55 Those are really the big, big mitigation measures along with the
18:00 cleaning, with the cleaning.
18:03 So from here, I’m going to hand it over to Barry, who can talk a
18:07 little bit about the
18:08 actual virus, what we know and what we don’t know, and anything
18:12 else he has to say.
18:14 Can you hear me?
18:15 Okay.
18:16 Well, thank you very much for having us again, and it’s my
18:19 pleasure.
18:19 I’ve always enjoyed working with the school board over the years
18:23 and enjoy working with
18:24 Chris Moore.
18:26 And a couple things I want to talk about real quick here to add
18:30 to Maria’s about the numbers.
18:32 About three or four weeks ago, we had a tremendous spike in our
18:36 cases in the community.
18:38 And that’s what you see sometimes is that tremendous spike, but
18:41 then what you see, as
18:43 Maria was saying, is two, three, four weeks later, you’ll start
18:46 to see an increase in
18:47 deaths, unfortunately, among the susceptible, as Maria was
18:52 saying, with our long-term care
18:55 facilities.
18:57 One thing I want to bring up, and I’ll get to COVID in a minute,
19:00 but what really concerns
19:01 me, as you know, we’re going to be moving into the fall.
19:05 And as we know, the flu becomes active during the fall.
19:07 I can’t overemphasize about how important it will be to have a
19:13 flu vaccine available.
19:15 And that people receive the flu vaccine for the children and for
19:22 your staff, the adults.
19:25 Because we’re going to have a hard time differentiating between
19:29 flu and COVID, you know, if that happens.
19:31 So whatever we can do to work together to encourage our children
19:37 and your staff and
19:39 whatever to get vaccinated for this, we need to try to implement
19:43 as best we can.
19:45 There may be a test that comes out that can differentiate with
19:49 one swab between the flu
19:51 and COVID, but we’ve not heard anything about that lately.
19:56 So I can’t overemphasize, you know, that the flu vaccine.
20:00 And there is some evidence, although it’s anecdotal right now,
20:03 that those people who
20:05 take or up on their vaccines seem to do somewhat better with COVID,
20:10 okay?
20:10 Although the information is anecdotal, as I said.
20:17 And about COVID-19, one thing, please understand, when it gets
20:21 into a family, almost all the
20:23 family members acquire it, and particularly if somebody is symptomatic.
20:28 We have seen that time and time again.
20:31 You take a large family and, you know, the index case, the first
20:37 case acquires it, and
20:39 then everybody acquires it.
20:41 If they’re in a small dwelling or what have you, it’s extremely
20:43 transmissible.
20:44 We do see sometimes people that do not acquire the virus, and we’re
20:48 not exactly sure why.
20:50 There’s some evidence, those of us who are O-type blood may have
20:54 less likely to acquire
20:56 the virus and recover from it maybe a little bit better.
21:00 And that is an article from the New England Journal of Medicine,
21:03 but we’re still working
21:05 those things out.
21:07 So when it gets into a family, you can expect that others in the
21:10 family, so that there’s
21:12 other siblings, that they certainly may come down to it with it,
21:15 but of course, they should
21:17 be quarantined at that time.
21:20 Persons are infectious for about two days before they get ill,
21:24 and then up to 10 days,
21:26 but it depends on how long they’re ill.
21:28 They usually can come back to work or whatever once they have,
21:32 their symptoms have pretty
21:33 much resolved in 10 days, and one day of no fever without any
21:37 medication.
21:38 High, high, high levels of the virus, I mean, we’re talking
21:43 millions and millions and millions
21:45 are found in nasal swabs here, so that makes it very transmissible.
21:49 If you remember SARS and MERS, if we go back a little bit, that
21:53 was mostly a lower respiratory
21:56 infection, and since it was a lower respiratory infection, we
21:59 didn’t have the outbreaks that
22:01 we’re seeing, of course, with this, or even the pandemic, of
22:04 course, that we’re dealing
22:05 with this.
22:06 So that made a huge difference, although both of those are coronaviruses,
22:10 okay?
22:11 And by the way, there’s many coronaviruses that are out there,
22:14 many of us have had these
22:15 viruses and you get over it, causes cold-like symptoms, it’s
22:20 usually nothing serious, you
22:22 get over it.
22:23 One thing we know and we’re learning is that people getting this
22:26 again is rare, particularly
22:28 in the next few months after they resolve their infection, there
22:32 seems to be some antibody
22:33 protection for at least two or three months in most situations
22:38 with that.
22:39 But then again, we’re working with the science on this, we’re
22:44 developing the science, this
22:46 is kind of unprecedented, I’ve always relied on presidents of
22:50 the science establishment
22:52 we have through the CDC and of course through others, but we’re
22:55 working through this as
22:56 we go.
22:57 Incubation period is usually three to six days and what we’ve
23:01 been seeing is, and I
23:02 know you’ve probably heard it’s two to 14 days, but in our
23:05 investigations we generally
23:07 see it pretty quick.
23:09 It’s in three or four days in most situations with that, with
23:12 children I don’t really see
23:14 any difference.
23:15 And the range is two to 11 days, the 14 days is extremely rare
23:20 to go out that far with
23:21 it, but we still have to go by the 14 days of being quarantined
23:26 if you’re in contact
23:27 or whatever with that.
23:30 Vast amounts of transmission occurs indoors than outdoors and we
23:37 had hoped that when the
23:39 summer came maybe less transmission would occur, but
23:43 unfortunately we run indoors for
23:46 our air conditioning and unfortunately air conditioning of
23:49 course may transmit it pretty
23:50 well particularly if there’s limited air circulations with that.
23:56 Also we’ve had outbreaks in the long term care facilities as
24:00 Maria said, but we’ve had
24:02 them in restaurants and gyms with janitors and other
24:06 environments with that and a lot
24:08 of that’s because they work extremely closely together, but also
24:12 they may have friendships
24:14 outside the office or wherever they work where transmission
24:18 occurs.
24:19 Most times when we’ve had these outbreaks somebody has come to
24:24 work sick, okay.
24:26 So coming to school sick or whatever you, excuse me, just can’t
24:31 happen and I know it
24:32 may happen, but that’s got to be instilled that it just cannot
24:37 happen.
24:38 Testing and let me just speak about that because everybody’s
24:41 getting tested and Maria says,
24:43 you know, as it says, you know, testing is important, but it’s
24:46 not the overwhelming thing.
24:48 The overwhelming thing is to stay home if you’re sick, to stay
24:50 home if you’re sick because
24:52 we just see it all too often with that.
24:54 The test and typically the PCR test, Polymer’s Chain Reaction,
24:57 that actually came out of
24:59 HIV research, you know, many, many years ago and we use it to
25:04 detect flu, hepatitis C and
25:06 many other viruses that are out there.
25:10 It’s not a good test to cure, okay.
25:12 It’s a good test for determining if you have it, the virus, it’s
25:16 not a good test to cure.
25:18 So that’s the reason we say if someone has it after 10 days if
25:21 their symptoms are virtually
25:23 gone they have one day of no fever without medication they can
25:26 come back to work and
25:27 you know, and that should apply to students too.
25:31 And I want to understand in our investigations too as we know
25:35 that there can be upper respiratory
25:36 symptoms.
25:37 There can be fever, there can be cough, there can be runny nose,
25:41 there can be congestion
25:42 and all that.
25:43 Fever occurs actually less than 50% of the time, okay.
25:47 So that can’t be a marker exclusively necessarily to go by.
25:53 One thing too we’re learning about the virus and transmission,
25:58 self-inoculation is an important
26:00 component.
26:02 Studies have shown that children in an hour will touch their
26:05 face 23 times and something
26:07 gets on their hands and you know their hands go into their face,
26:11 it’s very essentially
26:13 transmitting so then again the hand hygiene is extremely,
26:18 extremely important.
26:20 Disinfection, most disinfectants that are out there even those
26:24 you get at the grocery
26:25 store most of them will kill the virus in about a minute.
26:29 The environment is important, don’t get me wrong about that but
26:34 what the science so far
26:35 is demonstrating is the person to person transmission and
26:40 particularly the droplet, the aerosol,
26:43 the talking, of course the physical contacts that we have and
26:46 when we were talking we may
26:48 project and if we’re projecting then more virus gets into the
26:51 environment and transmission
26:53 may occur.
26:54 But I’m not trying to minimize so far as the environment goes
26:57 but just to understand
26:59 it is a pretty fragile virus, it dies pretty quickly
27:02 particularly with most disinfectants
27:04 that we have out there.
27:07 And we do find alcohol hand rinse where soap and water is
27:09 effective too obviously but alcohol
27:11 hand rinse you know after about 30 seconds does an excellent job
27:18 in destroying this virus.
27:21 And of course children and everyone need to give time for drying
27:24 to occur because drying
27:26 also reduces virus level in nearly all cases.
27:33 Avoid avoiding groups I can’t overemphasize that studies have
27:37 shown that social distancing
27:39 of course as Maria was saying is important.
27:43 Social distancing you know when we go into the community with
27:47 face masks is very effective
27:49 very effective in not being exposed to COVID.
27:54 Yeah I’ll leave it at that and if there’s questions concerns.
28:04 Was John speaking as well or is he just available to answer
28:08 questions?
28:10 Okay okay then then I will go ahead and open it up to board
28:15 members for questions.
28:18 Anyone have any?
28:21 This probably goes I’m gonna assume I already know the answer to
28:24 this question but you said
28:26 the positive if a person who’s already tested positive the first
28:30 time if they have retests
28:32 that’s not going to be included in the days count will their
28:36 first negative also not be
28:38 included in the days count?
28:39 Yes it’s only the positive that’s included.
28:42 So every whatever first test you get well I can take that back
28:48 because if you go and
28:50 get tested once and you’re negative then you go the next week
28:52 and get tested and you’re
28:53 positive and that would count.
28:54 Correct.
28:55 You’re right.
28:56 Okay.
28:57 So as a follow-up to that because I had the same question with
29:02 Campbell if the negatives
29:04 are counted more than once doesn’t that skew our positivity rate?
29:11 Yes it can but you know like in the nursing home we have to do
29:15 that because they get tested
29:16 every two weeks and some people in sensitive situations along
29:20 with with that but that’s
29:22 the state guideline particularly with their employees and and
29:25 many times that the residents
29:27 in the nursing homes are getting tested multiple multiple times
29:30 and then of course we want
29:31 to pick up that positive to try to control an outbreak in
29:33 whatever setting we’re working
29:35 with.
29:36 Sure.
29:37 So then if I’m hearing you correctly our positivity rate is
29:41 probably higher than the 6.1 that’s
29:45 showing because there may be multiple tests counted as negatives
29:51 so that would diminish
29:54 the percent of positives out of the total tests correct?
29:59 Not necessarily.
30:00 Do you want to?
30:01 No go ahead Barry.
30:02 Well not not necessarily with that the negative tests that are
30:09 that are done and all that
30:12 to my knowledge are counted are counted they are counted again
30:17 and again with that that
30:19 might bring the positive the positivity rate down okay may bring
30:25 it down but I’m not a
30:27 statistician I’m not exactly sure on that.
30:29 I can also say though with the numbers of testing that we are
30:34 doing in our county I
30:35 was gonna say do I have it here in our county their reports not
30:41 there we’ve done over 70,000
30:44 tests so what you’re saying may be correct but we’re running way
30:49 down and the average
30:51 I think is 6.6 percent in the last two weeks so with that number
30:56 that’s not going to skew
30:58 it a whole lot.
31:00 Do you have any idea out of those 70,000 tests that have been
31:03 done how many have been duplicate
31:04 tests?
31:05 I don’t have that that’s all no we don’t I apologize Ms.
31:09 Campbell I didn’t mean to take
31:11 the floor from you I just wanted to clarify on that question
31:15 that’s that was my only question
31:17 I just wanted it just to clarify okay so there would just it
31:21 just there would be certain
31:22 times when some it doesn’t mean that one person like one person
31:26 one test whatever but one
31:27 case once you’re once you are a case the positives are a case
31:32 right gotcha okay I want to let
31:35 me speak to something real quick if you don’t mind sometimes we
31:38 see people they may get
31:40 exposed to COVID and then they run out and get tested right away
31:44 right and maybe negative
31:46 okay but then a few days later they may start showing symptoms
31:51 then they go get tested and
31:53 then they get tested positive that happens an awful lot out
31:56 there there’s no way we can
31:57 control that of course obviously.
32:00 Thank you Ms. Deskovich you had questions yeah one other thing I
32:05 wanted to also add
32:07 to is you know you hear about the antigen tests which are the
32:13 rapid tests the rapid
32:15 tests for a positive are very accurate but the rapid tests for a
32:19 negative are not so
32:20 if someone goes to get a negative very what’s the false rate on
32:25 the negative test 50 percent
32:27 about 50 percent so if someone goes to get one of these rapid
32:31 tests and gets a negative
32:32 that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a negative and it should
32:35 if especially if they have symptoms
32:38 it should be followed up with the PCR which is the one that goes
32:41 actually to the lab so
32:43 and most of our labs in the area who are doing that they’re
32:46 doing both at the same time correct
32:48 yeah the only ones that are doing the rapid tests right now are
32:52 some of the urgent care
32:53 walk-in clinics as well as the hospitals and to my knowledge yes
32:57 but all the drive-through
32:59 collection sites are doing the standard PCR the PCR is a state-of-the-art
33:05 it detects nucleic
33:07 material and that’s really telling you okay would you you have
33:11 the virus so that’s a state
33:13 of that the rapid tests are more of an antibody antigen test so
33:17 they’re not quite as specific
33:19 and it’s the same problem with the flu I’ve seen many people
33:22 test negative for the flu
33:24 and they have all the symptoms in the world with that so that
33:32 test has has its drawbacks
33:36 thank you so much I’m super grateful that you guys are here to
33:40 help us wade through
33:42 these waters so with everything you just said about the positivity
33:46 tests and the numbers
33:47 we’re looking at can we trust the numbers we’re looking at in
33:50 your professional opinion
33:52 yes yes I don’t think there’s any doubt okay because I I think
33:58 and I know even just hearing
34:00 the conversation we’re just having it could be counted twice and
34:03 a negative and a positive
34:04 then I start getting overwhelmed and thinking I can’t count on
34:06 these numbers either to start
34:07 making decisions but in your opinion these numbers I think these
34:12 numbers are right on
34:13 okay thank you very much for that and can we assume that the
34:16 numbers around the rest
34:17 of the state or it’s all being done in the same fashion and all
34:20 being calculated the
34:21 same way so if we wanted to compare ourselves to other counties
34:25 that that’s also a reliable
34:26 metric absolutely and that’s actually that’s the beauty of
34:31 having our state health office
34:33 doing it because they’re doing it the exact same way for all all
34:37 the counties and as I
34:38 said this report’s not done by us it’s done by them so all 67
34:42 counties are being calculated
34:44 exactly the same way very helpful okay you said that the last
34:49 two weeks were doing very
34:51 well we want to stay under 10 Miami Dade has decided once they
34:56 hit 10 and start a downward
34:58 trend from there towards five that they’re going to open their
35:02 school district other
35:03 documents and resources say you shouldn’t until you’re at five
35:07 and below five the American
35:08 Pediatric Association has also said below five can you help me
35:13 understand why you picked
35:15 10 also in that same in that same question I’ve just been
35:19 following it day by day for
35:21 the past few weeks that intently and I have never seen it go
35:24 above 10 have we been above
35:26 10 at all since this started maybe one day one day we might have
35:30 been like a 10.1 or
35:32 something like that so as far as the five or the 10 we you know
35:37 there are every organization
35:40 may have something different we have to follow what CDC in the
35:44 state is is saying and they’re
35:46 both pretty consistent with you know 10 is the break off and as
35:49 you talk about Miami
35:50 Dade remember we have three counties in our state that are still
35:55 in phase one and Miami
35:56 is one of them Miami Dade Broward and Palm Beach so they don’t
36:01 have the same level of
36:03 opening as the rest of us do right now unless the governor you
36:06 know looks at their statistics
36:08 and changes that so no I I keep a little chart on my notepad of
36:13 this because I find it fascinating
36:15 that we’re in a different situation than them and Dade over the
36:18 past two weeks or nineteen
36:19 point eight eighteen nineteen so we’re definitely different from
36:23 them but what I’m trying to
36:25 understand is how much different is the data is this a good you
36:29 know is this good data
36:30 to look at compare one county to another is the same data
36:33 exactly the same collected the
36:35 same analyzed the same probably analyzed by the same person okay
36:41 sir you said we should
36:44 avoid groups greater than 10 and yet we’re trying to open our
36:50 schools can you help me
36:52 well remember if that that’s you know groups of 10 and
36:55 particularly if they’re not doing
36:58 social distancing they’re not wearing masks and those sorts of
37:01 things I guess I’m somewhat
37:03 concerned about with the schools is which we have no control
37:06 over is what they do before
37:07 school what they do after school but in the school setting you
37:11 could control that and
37:12 your plan seems to be very very good from what I’ve seen of it
37:16 with that so it’s but
37:18 when they’re because you don’t want kids getting this in the
37:20 community and bringing it into
37:22 the school okay so if they can do everything they can can in
37:26 educating the parents and
37:28 we’ve been trying to educate as best we can about this to avoid
37:32 these groups settings
37:33 of the family avoid these group settings that that will go a
37:36 long way in helping helping
37:37 all of us thank you and I promise I’m not trying to put either
37:41 of you on the spot but
37:42 I’m just so thrilled to have experts here for us to ask
37:44 questions I just want to thoroughly
37:46 understand before we discuss it as a board some decisions that
37:50 we’re making I’m looking
37:52 at the pediatric chart and I think again you said that we are
37:58 doing very well and we are
38:01 at seven point six percent which is above that five percent that
38:04 everybody keeps saying
38:06 we need to be at but when I compare us to the state every other
38:11 county I can only find
38:13 maybe two or three other counties that are below us so when I
38:18 look at that I feel good
38:20 about where we are is that a fair statement or I think that’s a
38:24 fair statement the other
38:25 thing is what we have seen also is the children that are being
38:30 tested so far at least that
38:32 we’re seeing are the children that are in families who have been
38:37 in close contact most
38:38 parents are not just bringing their children in to be tested
38:41 where some adults are some
38:43 adults are just coming in to be tested so but I think that rate
38:48 goes along with if you
38:50 compare our county as a whole to other counties like I said in
38:55 our region we are the lowest
38:58 in our region what’s classified as our region is from Martin
39:03 County to Volusia on the coast
39:06 and then inland is Orange Lake Seminole and Osceola so that’s
39:12 our region so if you ever
39:14 see calculations by region that’s our region and we are the
39:18 lowest positivity rate of our
39:21 region yes and from what I’m looking at and correct me if I’m
39:25 wrong not only are we the
39:26 lowest positivity rate for children it looks to me overall when
39:30 I list out all our surrounding
39:32 counties so we have the lowest positivity rate for any
39:35 surrounding county or for our
39:36 region correct is that a true statement yes okay my next
39:41 question is kind of a break out
39:44 of the age range of the numbers that are being diagnosed and so
39:49 I’m back on the main dashboard
39:52 where it has zero to four five to fourteen and fifteen to twenty
39:57 four should there be
39:59 different and it kind of goes with your statement statement sir
40:02 that children will touch their
40:03 face twenty three times I can’t remember what time period that
40:08 was but in a day in an hour
40:11 excuse me in an hour in an hour and so this question kind of pertains
40:16 more to masks and
40:17 I’m not sure if you’re comfortable giving direct advice on that
40:21 today the general statement
40:22 everywhere from all the medical community is masks help but then
40:26 when we dig into these
40:28 zero to four numbers or five to fourteen they’re so low in
40:32 diagnosis on this chart and then
40:34 combine that with the fact that these young children are going
40:37 to be touching their face
40:39 twenty three times an hour and the day that I’ve read is that a
40:42 lot of this comes in through
40:43 your eyes and so I’m wondering just by hearing this information
40:48 is this is it is it now worse
40:51 to have a mask on if you’re touching your face twenty three
40:55 times an hour and it’s near
40:57 your eyes and I could be way off I’m just you know you read a
41:00 lot of things or is it
41:02 better for the young ones to have a mask on and potentially
41:05 touching it twenty three times
41:07 an hour.
41:08 Well from the studies that they have shown you know from other
41:12 countries you know we’re
41:13 starting to get some data you know in our country now on all
41:17 that that the masks do
41:18 reduce the the the aerosol and and the the organism into into
41:25 close proximity of someone
41:28 so masks do assist now and the masks that I’m wearing now keeps
41:34 things inside there
41:36 are other masks that kind of keep things from coming in okay
41:39 like the N95 is better at keeping
41:42 things from coming in the surgical mask is better at keeping
41:45 things from coming out and
41:46 that’s our goal it’s not so much that because when we go out
41:50 because we could be asymptomatic
41:52 or what we call pre-symptomatic you’re going to get going to get
41:56 ill in the next few days
41:57 you know and that’s and there’s a lot of shedding of the virus
42:02 in that point but masks really
42:04 add to it and where you’ve seen it in communities where they
42:08 have actually you know have a high
42:11 rate of the people in the community when they go in public
42:14 wearing masks you have a you
42:16 have a lower incidence of this disease okay so that I’m just
42:19 speaking from what science
42:20 we have right now understood but is it different for especially
42:24 the zero to four range because
42:26 we do have VPK students and I you know I’ve went around to a
42:29 couple of our preschools
42:31 in my area and the children are not wearing masks and they haven’t
42:35 had any cases so far
42:37 just in my little community where I live and so I’m wondering
42:40 about the zero to four is
42:41 it more beneficial because I think from what I’ve seen there’s
42:45 very little research and
42:46 data right now on COVID-19 and masks but I’ll say the zero to
42:51 two zero to two should never
42:53 wear a mask I think everybody’s reason for that is the risk of
42:57 strangulation so the zero
42:59 to two should not so you know we’re really talking that three to
43:02 four and I know those
43:04 those young children it’s going to be hard to get them to keep a
43:08 mask on I agree with
43:09 you I mean anybody that’s had children has children or has had
43:12 children understands that
43:14 I’m trying to weigh risk versus value at this point and is it
43:18 are they potentially introducing
43:20 even more but you’re saying it’s good for blocking but it’s okay
43:23 that they’re mask is
43:24 going to be to go out it you know so theoretically if everyone
43:28 wore a mask then the transmission
43:31 is not going from me to you right so let me hover over this zero
43:35 to four number so in
43:36 Brevard we’ve had since when do we start tracking this was it
43:40 March March yeah so since March
43:43 we’ve had 52 cases total of zero to four and 133 even all the
43:49 way up to age 14 and I happen
43:53 to chat with the Arnold Palmer infectious disease specialist the
43:57 other day and she said
43:58 of the children that they’ve seen that the impact is minimal now
44:02 I think that was her
44:03 exact quote so I want I guess I want to understand the
44:10 significance at such few cases from what
44:15 I’ve read the transmission seems to be less and the younger
44:18 children and with the cases
44:20 that the specialists here have seen in children have been
44:23 minimal to impact and they’ve recovered
44:25 quickly and find she said should we is it necessary for the
44:31 younger ones and remember
44:34 and it is true what she said most children most children will do
44:38 fine we have had five
44:40 children deaths in the state of Florida can you get a little
44:42 closer to the microphone
44:44 I’m sorry we have as I said what she said is absolutely correct
44:49 most children are going
44:51 to have most more minor illnesses however there have been five
44:54 deaths in the state of
44:55 Florida and that is five deaths none in this county thank
44:59 goodness but the other thing
45:01 to consider is we don’t know the longer term you know the
45:05 inflammatory disorders that we’re
45:08 seeing developing in some you know some adults and some children
45:12 and that’s what that multi
45:14 inflammatory disorder is that you’ve seen and that’s showing you
45:19 know two months two
45:21 months three months after after they’ve been a case and as and
45:24 the other thing you know
45:26 like I said is a lot of children aren’t getting tested so some
45:30 of the multi inflammatory disorders
45:33 have been found when they do the antibody test and they find
45:36 they had antibodies so
45:37 they actually had it but were never tested to have it but now
45:41 yeah they have it now they
45:43 have the inflammatory disorder rates are low risk is low yes
45:48 thank you one more question
45:50 and that is about mask quality if we are going to move forward
45:55 we’re already at you know
45:57 even if we didn’t change it we’re at expected which means we
46:00 expect every student to show
46:01 up with one and let’s expect that they’re going to wear it do
46:05 you have any advice I
46:06 have a recent email from a doctor that kind of talks about the
46:09 different masks and what’s
46:10 better and what’s not if people want to make a better choice
46:14 when choosing a mask do you
46:16 have any advice or input on well the first thing I’ll say is any
46:21 mask is better than
46:22 no mask but I’ll let perry take it from there well the
46:27 differences in the in the mass and
46:29 I think I explained that a little bit or you know previously
46:34 they have the n95 mask that
46:36 is maybe you know probably more for healthcare workers because
46:40 they’re getting exposed and
46:43 that mass leaks somewhat less than it’s recommended of course
46:48 you get fit tested for that and
46:50 the surgical mask is I think a good mass it works very well you
46:56 don’t need to be fit test
46:58 maybe fit checked for that with that and then and then you have
47:03 of course the cloth mass
47:05 that are that are out there and to me that would kind of be the
47:08 level but remember the
47:10 master different the surgical kind of keeps things in the n95 is
47:14 better things from coming
47:16 in okay to your to your to your face with that so cloth mass
47:22 that you see out there
47:24 and and some of them are made of nylon and some other things
47:29 they’re just more like the
47:31 surgical mask and they keep kind of keep things from coming
47:35 coming out with that so if we
47:37 had a high-risk employee that really wanted to get back into the
47:40 classroom would you recommend
47:42 the n95 or the surgical or do they need like when I went and saw
47:45 the infectious disease
47:46 doctor she had on several different masks and she said this one
47:49 does this this one does
47:50 that what advice could we give our employees or what could we
47:54 purchase for them to help
47:56 them be be most protected if they really wanted to go back in
47:58 the classroom well well then
48:00 again if you’re concerned about what you’re going to be exposed
48:04 to the n95 mask is more
48:06 appropriate okay but that are you saying that doesn’t help well
48:12 it does it does help in
48:13 shedding it some but not as good not as well as some of the
48:16 other masks that we mentioned
48:18 so is there no like one size fits all for keeping in and not
48:22 expressing well the other
48:24 thing you can do is wear a face shield because the face shield
48:28 will add to that and in an
48:30 article I have it right here is that they’re talking that even
48:33 face shields work well but
48:34 you know in many of our long-term care facilities you have to
48:38 wear you have to wear a mask the
48:40 the n95 mask and the face shield when you go in there so
48:43 somebody who’s very concerned
48:45 about their health they’re older they have comorbidities and
48:49 things like that that may
48:51 be a good idea to maybe do both okay that’s helpful thank you
48:54 one more question that I
48:56 haven’t seen anywhere answered and I’m very curious about so we’re
48:59 all recommended to
49:00 wear masks what do these numbers look like when we can stop
49:04 wearing masks we could stop
49:07 wearing masks I don’t think that’s going to happen till we get a
49:10 vaccine or a very good
49:11 medication yeah I think we would have to reach the point of herd
49:14 immunity yeah herd immunity
49:16 which herd immunity is going to be a percentage of our
49:19 population that has immunity that’s
49:21 going through vaccine or disease can you explain that a little
49:24 bit more because we’ve had some
49:25 public comments in our last couple meetings about herd immunity
49:28 and we’ve all been asked
49:29 if we believe her to me what in her herd immunity and so as an
49:32 expert can you give us a little
49:34 more information on what that is that’s basically where you have
49:40 the the community that has
49:42 been vaccinated or they’ve had the disease and therefore they
49:47 have protection so what
49:49 happens is if you have a community that has a good many people
49:54 like let’s say for measles
49:56 most of us have I’m at the age that I had measles but most of us
50:00 have had the MMR measles
50:02 bumps and rubella vaccine okay so most of us have had that when
50:05 measles comes into the
50:07 community it has generally a pretty difficult time finding a
50:11 susceptible host right because
50:14 it’s running it’s bumping in to all these folks who’ve been
50:17 either vaccinated or they’ve
50:19 ever had it in the past okay with that I think most experts
50:23 would say it would take up to
50:25 a 70% herd sort of immunity to get to the point that maybe you’re
50:31 you’re discussing
50:32 so the only way we stop wearing masks is if a vaccine comes out
50:36 and 70% of the people
50:38 get it or 70% of the people are exposed and have antibodies to
50:42 it as am I understanding
50:43 that correctly that’s that’s somewhat my understanding so it’s I
50:47 know I was asked by a friend am
50:49 I going to have to wear a mask the rest of my life and that’s
50:52 very good question and
50:54 I said I don’t know I certainly hope not I think there is real
50:57 hope for medications and
50:59 there’s real hope for vaccines that will get to that point but
51:01 that’s going to take time
51:04 okay and the other thing is is I will add is what we’re saying
51:08 today is only as good
51:09 as today understood as we know this is a new changing virus and
51:13 tomorrow could be something
51:15 different next week could be something different as they learn
51:17 more and more about the vaccines
51:19 thank you both very much thank you for miss Belsford giving me
51:21 all of that time absolutely
51:24 can I tag on still with us I am still here I had to unmute
51:31 myself that’s all right did
51:32 did you have questions I just first I want to thank you very
51:35 much the health department
51:37 for sharing all this information and I just want to just double
51:41 check with so right now
51:42 our positivity rate if I understood correctly I’ve been taking
51:46 out the seven point six and
51:48 we definitely want to keep under ten correct we want to keep the
51:52 trend under ten yes and
51:54 it’s the pediatric positivity rate that’s the seven point six
51:58 our overall positivity
52:00 rate well today was six point six I believe without looking at
52:06 it but we have ranged in
52:08 the last two weeks from about five to nine and the nine was only
52:13 one day so our average
52:15 I know our average over the last week was six point six okay
52:21 okay and so I I don’t think
52:24 I have any other questions because miss Befovitch asked a whole
52:26 bunch and she covered a lot
52:27 of things I had in mind so like I said thank you very much for
52:32 taking the time thanks miss
52:34 McDougall miss Campbell I think you were trying to get a
52:36 question in there just to tag on
52:38 to the last thing that miss deskovich asked when you you talk
52:41 about when we get to that
52:43 place where maybe we can start getting back to normal dare I say
52:48 that how where do treatments
52:50 fit into that I mean if we if we you know we have diseases that
52:57 we don’t necessarily
52:59 have the whole entire public do mitigation measures because we
53:03 have treatments for them
53:04 where does that fit into along with the herd immunity and if we
53:07 come up with something
53:08 that is you know something where we can treat quickly and and it
53:12 and it you know it’s not
53:14 affecting people like it is now we’re how does that fit into the
53:16 equation I know that
53:17 maybe you know not your area of specialty but what do you think
53:21 on that well I’ve been
53:23 trying to keep up with you know what medications or therapeutics
53:28 maybe you know maybe coming
53:30 forward and all that but but if you have a you know a medication
53:34 that comes out that
53:35 has a high cure rate you know let’s say 90 95 percent then I
53:40 think that would start to
53:42 change things because and it’s got to be pill form or liquid
53:46 form can’t be there is a medication
53:48 now that they use you to go to the hospital remdesivir but that’s
53:51 more for severe cases
53:53 and all that there is hope for medications that this virus is
53:57 like we said or maybe I
53:59 didn’t say it’s an RNA virus we’re DNA and you know they’ve made
54:03 therapeutics for RNA
54:05 viruses like HIV and hepatitis C and hepatitis C they figured
54:09 out a way to basically keep
54:11 the virus from replicating so we can cure hepatitis C in 8 to 12
54:14 weeks we’re gonna need
54:16 something that you know along those lines and they have seen
54:19 medications at least two
54:20 of them seem to be fairly and studies done in other countries
54:24 somewhat effective in controlling
54:27 so I think there’s hope there may be more hope for therapeutics
54:30 and there is a vaccine
54:31 in the near future you know like in the fall or whatever but if
54:35 you had a high cure rate
54:37 and things like that that could change things a lot and that
54:39 reduces your death rate an
54:40 awful lot and all that hospitalizations and that could change
54:43 that could change the games
54:45 somewhat okay thank you Mr. Susan you have a question yeah thank
54:51 you again you guys for
54:52 taking time out of your busy day to be here to help us out this
54:54 means a lot to us so thank
54:55 you for that just had a quick couple of actually I’m not going
54:59 to be quick I’m going to be
55:00 like Mr. Escovitch and just ask a couple of questions when did
55:04 our official testing start
55:05 when was that start date you said March did I hear you say I don’t
55:10 have the exact date
55:11 but it was the beginning of March and you know the testing
55:16 started out slow and expanded
55:18 and now we have so much testing you know going on right now it
55:23 started out pretty pretty
55:25 little little is that the is that the right grammar there I’m
55:29 not sure but you know we
55:31 started out where if it was a suspect case the epidemiology
55:34 department would go out to
55:35 the home and do their testing that was late February early March
55:41 which has expanded as
55:42 more tests became available you know in the very beginning there
55:46 was a shortage of no
55:47 I remember yeah I was just trying to pinpoint because there’s
55:51 been talk inside various circles
55:53 that the virus may have been here prior to our testing time and
55:56 that it may have been
55:58 here prior to the beginning of the year based on some models do
56:01 you guys have any kind of
56:02 indication on that at all we have the same information you have
56:08 but it would not surprise
56:10 me that it wasn’t I think probably all of us can identify
56:14 somebody that was pretty sick
56:17 in January or February that potentially could have been one of
56:21 our co-workers we say the
56:23 same thing yeah yeah she was sick and they couldn’t determine
56:27 what it was well maybe
56:29 it was right okay so but yeah it could have been and then I was
56:34 the next question I had
56:36 was the Herdman immunity I was doing some research in Sweden
56:39 because they’re the ones
56:41 that were looking at that as their their model and I think they
56:44 were saying once the population
56:46 reaches between 60 and 70 percent is when that is achieved is
56:49 that kind of what you
56:50 guys are thinking also yes okay and then when I look at the the
56:54 statistics of how we’re
56:56 doing the testing it really I don’t know maybe and and this is
57:01 what I was going to ask you
57:03 is is to me it feels like when we do a positive test it should
57:07 be indicated towards the total
57:09 population of the school of the of the county not just how many
57:13 people are testing that
57:14 day because the how many that day is an anomaly to me that can
57:18 be changed based upon all of
57:20 a sudden a group of people say that they have to go get tested
57:23 can you talk to me about
57:25 the science because I’m sure that people who made that decision
57:29 had you know that that’s
57:31 backed up for a reason why is it that we’re just testing how
57:35 many people to how many tested
57:37 as opposed to how many people were actually in our population
57:40 does that make sense why
57:41 is that the model that we’re using well I think they do that
57:45 like you know per hundred
57:47 thousand population that’s what you’re talking about yes like a
57:51 rate yes sir okay I think
57:53 they’re that that could be done there’s no that’s nothing
57:57 complicated to do I think they
57:59 have those those particular rates but you know they put it in
58:03 this particular format
58:05 I think so people can understand a lot of people don’t
58:07 understand rates per hundred
58:08 thousand you know with this and I don’t even know the rate per
58:11 hundred thousand but it’s
58:12 easy to calculate you know with that so they just decided to put
58:16 it in this particular
58:18 format so people can understand it maybe a little easier and I
58:21 think the rates per hundred
58:22 thousand that’s going to be more long longer term epidemiology
58:25 not the short term day by
58:27 day that we need to look at and I think we will see that but it’ll
58:31 be down the road a
58:32 little bit yeah because I’m trying to look at how many people
58:36 are actually infected in
58:37 our society at any given time right and doing a percentage of
58:41 how many people tested as
58:43 opposed to turning positive is one way of looking at it and then
58:46 the other is is that
58:48 when we look and we say okay if there’s an average of a hundred
58:51 and thirty people testing
58:52 positive over a fourteen day period there’s probably the average
58:55 of how many people around
58:56 you have the COVID within a the population of Brevard when I was
59:00 looking at us and I
59:02 thank you for for telling us about how we are the lowest in the
59:06 area I did the statistical
59:08 analysis against the actual general population of the counties
59:12 that reside against the total
59:14 number of cases Brevard has five thousand three hundred and
59:17 thirty three according to
59:18 the website today we have a population of six hundred and one
59:21 thousand nine hundred
59:23 and forty two which brings us to a percentage point of point
59:26 zero zero eight so less than
59:27 one percent and then when I look all the way around all of our
59:31 other counties they are
59:33 extremely higher as far as a percentage towards their population
59:37 Volusia County is one point
59:39 two percent Seminole County is one point four percent Indian
59:43 River is one point four percent
59:45 Osceola is two point two percent and Orange County is two
59:49 percent I did a statistical
59:51 analysis to say if we were the same as Volusia how many we would
59:54 have based upon their positive
59:56 test rates and we would have to have twelve thousand and thirty
1:00:00 eight positive test rates
1:00:01 to be the same as as which is seven thousand more which is over
1:00:05 double what we would normally
1:00:06 have now so I wanted to just when I was looking at that as a
1:00:10 statistic I wanted to see where
1:00:12 we were compared to the others based on population because to me
1:00:15 that kind of tells us our herd
1:00:17 mentality and where we’re at with some of that stuff getting
1:00:20 into the next piece was
1:00:21 I was gonna ask is there is there a way to you guys do it by zip
1:00:28 code do you guys have
1:00:30 the positive tests by addresses by any chance does that actually
1:00:36 happen or is that kind
1:00:39 of hit and miss we do internally yes we do internally but that’s
1:00:43 not anything that would
1:00:44 ever be publicized because it’s identifying cases in the
1:00:47 community right right does everybody
1:00:49 would know but the only thing that’s published is city and zip
1:00:54 code absolutely and I and
1:00:55 I wouldn’t be going towards asking for that information I just
1:00:58 wanted to see if you guys
1:00:59 had it and the reason being is is that in your professional
1:01:03 opinion do you feel that
1:01:04 there’s pockets of society or areas where people just are not
1:01:08 testing because of the
1:01:09 availability of transportation or anything like that and would
1:01:12 our number be higher because
1:01:13 of that or are you seeing trends inside of your testing and
1:01:17 inside of your data that
1:01:19 would would be more consistent with a consistent testing for
1:01:23 everybody what I can say is one
1:01:25 of our strategies have been over the last at least month month
1:01:28 and a half is we’re taking
1:01:30 one to two days a week and we’re going out into the more
1:01:32 vulnerable communities we’re
1:01:34 going you can you speak up for some reason I I’m sorry can you
1:01:38 say all that again I was
1:01:40 trying to follow you am I on yeah hear me now okay I’m sorry I
1:01:44 can say one of our strategies
1:01:47 have been over the last month month and a half has been to going
1:01:50 out into the vulnerable
1:01:51 communities okay I can say up in the North County parish is
1:01:55 actually taking their mobile
1:01:57 van and going out into the vulnerable communities up in the
1:02:01 North County area in the central
1:02:03 county area we’ve had Brevard Health Alliance take their mobile
1:02:06 van out to vulnerable communities
1:02:08 and we have actually gone out to several Spanish churches and
1:02:13 several other more low-income
1:02:16 vulnerable community centers and churches that we’ve gone out to
1:02:20 in the north and I’m
1:02:21 sorry in the central and south county so yes what you’re saying
1:02:25 potentially could happen
1:02:26 and we’re trying to mitigate that by actually going out to them
1:02:30 is do you have statistics
1:02:32 on those testing mobile vans as opposed to the others internally
1:02:37 to where you know that
1:02:39 hey we’re looking at this and we’re seeing a high antibody rate
1:02:44 of students that may
1:02:46 or young kids or people or whoever that have this prior does
1:02:49 that make sense is that aggregated
1:02:51 out some well in all the testing I’m talking about it’s not
1:02:54 antibody testing okay we’re
1:02:56 not doing the antibody testing it’s the regular PCR collection
1:02:59 that we’re doing so there and
1:03:01 we do we have identified some pockets of our community and I can
1:03:05 tell you we identify the
1:03:07 pockets we do the testing and they recover and then we don’t see
1:03:10 those pockets anymore
1:03:11 okay so that’s primarily Barry do you have anything to add to
1:03:15 that well I just I will
1:03:17 say this some of the pockets of Maria is talking about where you
1:03:23 know like we said our health
1:03:25 department folks have gone out and done testing and all that and
1:03:30 first off anybody who wants
1:03:31 to get a test should be able to get a test right now it’s very
1:03:36 amenable to to everyone
1:03:38 if they want to get a test and remember it’s free I don’t
1:03:41 remember anytime having free
1:03:43 tests at any time and I’ve been doing this for over 40 years
1:03:48 with that but one thing
1:03:50 we have seen is that you know in some of these pockets they get
1:03:53 the virus but remember they
1:03:55 get the antibodies and then we don’t see much of the virus there
1:03:59 you know I mean that could
1:04:01 come back around that that’s what we’ll have to be careful of
1:04:04 with that so we have we have
1:04:06 seen that so I just want to add that to it yes sir um so can you
1:04:11 speak to the antibody
1:04:13 test and and and I’m sorry miss miss more you came to the podium
1:04:17 I think you wanted
1:04:18 to say something before I keep going yeah I just wanted to say I’m
1:04:21 gonna take this off
1:04:22 I just wanted to say that we did have a principal call us up and
1:04:25 say she had a concern that
1:04:26 there was a pocket in her community that maybe perhaps we’re not
1:04:30 getting tested we were
1:04:31 working with the health department specifically Patty Siebert we
1:04:34 had a mobile site ready to
1:04:35 go out we had we worked with a community member who set up the
1:04:38 space for us to do that and
1:04:40 then as we investigated further it turned out to be a very very
1:04:44 isolated contained pocket
1:04:45 but that’s kind of the work of between the partnership of the
1:04:48 school board and the Department
1:04:49 of Health is that if we identify a group or an area or a pocket
1:04:54 that perhaps are not seeking
1:04:56 out the testing for whatever reason they have they were ready to
1:05:00 mobilize that that unit
1:05:01 for us that week you know and I wanted to say something behind
1:05:08 that I am I am absolutely
1:05:11 I can’t tell you how hard our staff is working with our children
1:05:16 right now I I have seen
1:05:18 our some of our staff and some of our principals moving through
1:05:21 the communities down where
1:05:23 I’m at and in you know it’s an amazing thing to see their
1:05:28 involvement inside of those kids
1:05:30 communities outside the school so thank you so much Miss Moore
1:05:33 for making that happen
1:05:34 and working on that and thank you for the deal each for making
1:05:36 that you had a follow-up
1:05:37 I’m sorry yeah well I was just gonna say we’ve pretty much
1:05:40 reserved one day a week Thursdays
1:05:42 to be our outreach so as we identify or anyone comes forward
1:05:47 that they feel an outreach needs
1:05:50 to be done in an area we do our testing in our viera clinic
1:05:53 Monday Tuesday Wednesday
1:05:55 Friday and Thursday is our pretty much our outreach day so I don’t
1:06:01 know it would you
1:06:02 all I mean I can run through all the testing that’s going
1:06:05 through in our county and where
1:06:07 they are if anyone needs that information do you want me to go
1:06:11 through that at all I
1:06:12 don’t want you to do extra work you’re real busy but if my other
1:06:14 board members do I just
1:06:15 had questions just trying to figure out the flow of how this
1:06:19 whole thing this operation’s
1:06:20 working okay um can I keep going okay let me ask you this so we’re
1:06:26 not testing for the
1:06:27 antibodies we’re testing for the actual um positive rate right
1:06:32 we we yes there are there
1:06:33 is antibody testing going on out there is and that antibody
1:06:37 testing is opposed to the
1:06:39 positive testing that’s being done by the private clinics not
1:06:43 the doh correct some private
1:06:45 some private clinics are doing antibody testing and if if I am
1:06:48 and this is just from my knowledge
1:06:50 I’m just if I if I have COVID then I get over it or I’m asymptomatic
1:06:55 what is the percentage
1:06:57 of people that show the antibodies inside their system is it a
1:07:00 hundred or is it a lower
1:07:02 amount does that make sense is the end can we assume to test
1:07:05 that if a person has the
1:07:07 antibodies in their system that they they are that they’ve had
1:07:10 it or could there be
1:07:11 people that don’t have the antibodies that actually tested
1:07:15 positive for COVID well it
1:07:18 could be could be both but so far as the antibody testing and
1:07:22 all that my understanding the
1:07:24 percentage is low no it’s two three percent or something along
1:07:27 those lines the other thing
1:07:29 I want to caution us about is the antibody testing that we that’s
1:07:34 been done the the science
1:07:36 behind the antibody and all that is not at a level that many
1:07:40 experts feel comfortable
1:07:42 with at this point but what I said is you know what we are
1:07:46 seeing like I said in the
1:07:48 communities I just mentioned and in families and all that we’re
1:07:51 not seeing people acquire
1:07:52 this again because you’ll say you’re in a family of eight and
1:07:55 you are the initial person
1:07:57 where it bounces through you know every week or so seems like
1:08:01 you could get reinfected
1:08:02 from the from the the the the last cases or two that were in
1:08:06 your family we’re not seeing
1:08:08 that there was an article in the paper believe it was yesterday
1:08:11 that’s saying you know acquiring
1:08:13 this again is unlikely you can’t always lab test yourself out of
1:08:18 something okay lab test
1:08:20 or a tool you know you need to look at symptoms people have
1:08:24 their risk that they have you
1:08:26 have to look at all that that together so some some tests are
1:08:29 very specific like we
1:08:31 said the PCR is a great test and whatever some of these other
1:08:34 tests we have to sit back
1:08:36 and let the science evolve a little better you know on that so
1:08:40 antibody testing is not
1:08:41 at a level we need it to be at this point okay thank you so much
1:08:45 wanted to see the antibody
1:08:46 tests Chris on the main page there is and you may have seen it
1:08:51 there’s a link that says
1:08:52 serology testing the serology testing again is broken down and
1:08:58 that’s updated once a week
1:09:01 also right there total antibody results for Florida don’t do the
1:09:10 K yeah do that one and
1:09:11 that one does break it down by County also can you can he flip
1:09:17 to your screen right now
1:09:19 can the can the computer that the man in the back mr. Francisco
1:09:25 can you show her computer
1:09:27 right now there we go okay I think keep going down Chris it’s
1:09:33 below that I think okay so
1:09:35 there’s a place that they can go to get those all right next
1:09:38 question is there it is right
1:09:40 there perfect okay so yeah you can see Brevard of the antibody
1:09:48 tests that have done three
1:09:49 percent are showing positive okay the next is there I’ve seen in
1:10:01 other areas that the
1:10:03 amount of asymptomatic individuals based upon is somewhere in
1:10:07 the in the range of forty
1:10:09 percent to fifty percent is that what you guys also see when we’re
1:10:13 trying to judge how
1:10:14 many asymptomatic people may be out there based upon the
1:10:17 population that we have or
1:10:19 no or is that just an anomaly that we don’t have any you don’t
1:10:21 have any statistics to
1:10:23 even think about I don’t know that we have the data on that I
1:10:30 don’t think we have a percentage
1:10:34 and the science has kind of said anywhere from five to thirty
1:10:37 five percent okay you
1:10:39 know so it could vary greatly okay and then um can you so part
1:10:47 of what I’ve been trying
1:10:49 to get at is is like can you give me what your recommendations
1:10:54 would be for our schools
1:10:57 if you could say this is what we would like you to do as a
1:11:01 school district from the DOH
1:11:03 what would that look like from you well what I can say is the
1:11:06 plan that it was developed
1:11:08 by the district is a very solid plan we’ve we’ve had Patty and
1:11:12 Maureen that were sitting
1:11:15 on the plan and then Barry and I reviewed the final plan I think
1:11:18 your plan the district’s
1:11:20 plan is very solid I think everything everything is covered as I
1:11:25 say that I don’t think anyone
1:11:27 can expect schools to open and not have any cases I think we are
1:11:31 going no matter what
1:11:33 we do we’re going to have cases and it’s not because of anything
1:11:36 that’s being done in the
1:11:37 schools it’s being what’s going on in the community so the
1:11:41 children are social distance
1:11:43 Barry said everyone’s social distancing here at school they’re
1:11:46 wearing masks here but what
1:11:47 happens when they leave so it I don’t know if there’s a whole
1:11:53 lot that can be done to
1:11:55 prevent that outside of the whole community education but your
1:12:01 plan is very solid I can’t
1:12:04 you know we can’t give a recommendation we can explain data to
1:12:08 you but what I can say
1:12:09 and I don’t know whose email it was if it was Tina’s or Misty’s
1:12:13 that I sent is I feel
1:12:15 very comfortable with the school district’s plan on opening that
1:12:18 everything is being done
1:12:20 that that can be done when I was doing the study when I was
1:12:24 looking at the studies to
1:12:25 try to figure out you know the the amount of individuals that
1:12:28 are inside the community
1:12:30 that have been like you said when they go home they’re with
1:12:32 their all their friends
1:12:33 so if you go to a lot of the homes the same kids that were
1:12:36 hanging out over the summer
1:12:37 are there I looked in Japan in 2009 through 2012 had some
1:12:42 studies that came out based
1:12:44 upon their school closures and positivity rates when they closed
1:12:49 down and they reopened
1:12:50 and one of the things that they had said through a lot of those
1:12:54 research articles was that
1:12:56 the children over the school closures and over the summers were
1:12:58 all together so those
1:12:59 had already worked their way through just like you said sir the
1:13:03 friends the families
1:13:04 everybody else when the schools came back and they started in
1:13:08 cases where there were
1:13:10 no social distancing guidelines and stuff like that was where
1:13:13 they saw the the rises
1:13:15 because now you are taking those groups and putting them
1:13:18 together and intermingling so
1:13:20 I did want to say that I was looking at that and that’s what I
1:13:22 found out but I I guess
1:13:24 I’m I’m I’m looking at I guess I’ll let Misty go and then I’ll I’ll
1:13:29 have some follow-up
1:13:31 eventually so okay Miss McDougall you indicated you had a follow-up
1:13:36 question before I go yes
1:13:39 thank you I just wanted to ask the question okay so we were
1:13:42 talking about a family let’s
1:13:44 say if students initially is the contact person and he recovers
1:13:47 but then it goes through the
1:13:49 whole family can the students then come back if he’s a symptom
1:13:53 after he’s gone to no symptoms
1:13:55 after 10 days and no fever can is he then allowed to come back
1:13:59 to school even though
1:14:00 it’s going around in his whole family I’m just curious because I
1:14:04 I can see that happening
1:14:05 well that’s why we recommend the 14-day quarantine so the close
1:14:09 contacts of a case should be
1:14:11 quarantined for 14 days so okay if if they say there was a
1:14:16 brother or a sister that was
1:14:18 a case then everybody should stay home for 14 days did that
1:14:24 answer well okay so I’m I’m
1:14:30 child A and I get it first and then I’m okay and then it goes to
1:14:35 my brothers or my mother
1:14:37 and father but I don’t have any symptoms after my 14 days but
1:14:41 everybody else is still sick
1:14:43 I can still come back yes yes because you’re past the incubation
1:14:50 they’re going to have
1:14:51 some antibody protection to protect them yes and remember they
1:14:57 may be safer than a lot
1:14:59 of your other kids in the school because you know they’ve got
1:15:02 some antibody protection
1:15:03 but is there a chance that they’re going to pass it on to their
1:15:06 peers or their teachers
1:15:08 like are they no not if they you know if they’ve reached that
1:15:12 when they’re when they become
1:15:14 non-infectious after 10 days their symptoms are virtually gone
1:15:18 in one day of no fever
1:15:19 without medication they’re good to go okay thank you is that it
1:15:25 miss mcdughill yeah thank
1:15:28 you okay so I too have a huge list of questions I cannot thank
1:15:33 you all enough for being here
1:15:35 I think I can probably speak for all of us on the board when we
1:15:37 say that this has been
1:15:38 an incredibly challenging situation because none of us are
1:15:43 medical experts and we’ve been
1:15:46 doing our best to gather as much information and make the best
1:15:48 decisions possible but we’re
1:15:49 so appreciative of you all being willing to be here and be our
1:15:52 partners through this and
1:15:53 help to give us guidance so thank you one of my my first
1:15:58 question I guess that hasn’t
1:16:00 been addressed yet or it happened but I need some clarification
1:16:06 was Maria I think it was
1:16:08 you that said that the Surgeon General recommends groups of no
1:16:12 more than 10 his public health
1:16:14 advisory yes he didn’t say groups no less than 10 he said social
1:16:18 gatherings no less
1:16:19 so the social gatherings and recreational no less than 10 or no
1:16:24 greater than 10 no greater
1:16:26 than 10 and so is that is that to say that groups of 10 or less
1:16:34 are don’t need to worry
1:16:37 about social distancing or can can you clarify that for me yes I
1:16:43 would say everyone even
1:16:45 as the groups of two or three need to be social distancing and
1:16:50 and trying to wear a mask where
1:16:53 and Barry can probably relate to this a little bit better is the
1:16:57 bigger groups you have the
1:16:59 more risk there is which is why and it was groups of 50 just a
1:17:05 couple weeks ago his latest
1:17:08 advisory brought it down to groups of 10 so Barry can you add to
1:17:16 that well we just know
1:17:17 that and because of the those who may be infected and all that
1:17:23 although our percentages are
1:17:26 low or whatever it’s likely to be transmitted when she started
1:17:30 to get over 10 you start
1:17:32 to see more interaction and more possibility that you have
1:17:36 contact with somebody you know
1:17:38 who has the virus so it’s just a numbers game and then as the
1:17:42 numbers go up you’re in larger
1:17:44 and larger groups more likely you’re going to be exposed to
1:17:47 someone who has the virus
1:17:49 smaller less likely got it this one actually is probably for
1:17:56 miss more I’ve heard repeatedly
1:18:00 the importance of individuals getting the flu vaccine this year
1:18:05 to help us differentiate
1:18:06 between COVID flu although we know but never mind the
1:18:10 recommendation for the flu vaccine
1:18:13 do we have any plans to make it easy for our employees or our
1:18:18 students to access the flu
1:18:21 vaccine through our schools this year to encourage that yeah
1:18:25 that’s really I’m gonna I’m gonna
1:18:27 punt to mark Langdorf on that because he normally sets it up
1:18:30 through our wellness clinics so
1:18:32 I really don’t have an answer I don’t know if miss that he does
1:18:36 dr. Betty we have typically
1:18:38 always offered flu vaccines to all of our staff every single
1:18:41 year and I would see no
1:18:42 difference this year at school and they’re actually going into
1:18:45 the schools to provide
1:18:46 those I’m going to say I believe so but I will get that answer
1:18:50 from mr. Langdorf okay
1:18:52 super thank you Barry you mentioned that the virus is very transmissible
1:18:59 because there
1:19:00 are high levels of the virus and the nasal swabs that we’re
1:19:05 seeing is there any difference
1:19:08 I’ve read some studies that suggest that children under 10 don’t
1:19:12 have as many of the receptors
1:19:15 that COVID is binding to the ACE 5 I think receptors that COVID
1:19:21 is binding to in their
1:19:23 nasal tissues are you all seeing any difference in the viral
1:19:27 load between adults and children
1:19:29 in those swabs well well first off we don’t get a viral load
1:19:33 count we don’t know that
1:19:35 this is just from the research that they’ve done you know and in
1:19:40 some in the other countries
1:19:42 and so that that’s that’s what I was referring to okay and there
1:19:47 you don’t there’s not been
1:19:48 any evidence that there’s a difference between children and
1:19:52 adults that you’ve seen well
1:19:53 children seem you know of course less likely to quiet and the
1:19:57 the smaller children I don’t
1:19:58 know John if I could speak to this you know children and
1:20:01 transmitting tuberculosis are
1:20:02 not real likely right John yeah yeah they don’t have the anatomy
1:20:08 to expel that’s a bacteria
1:20:10 that they don’t have the anatomy to expel that and so it may be
1:20:15 that children okay when
1:20:16 I when I talk and speak and cough and sneeze is going to be a
1:20:20 lot more dramatic than a
1:20:21 three-year-old generally with that so they have we have more
1:20:25 acceleration than what a
1:20:27 child may have okay so are are you from your knowledge is there
1:20:35 any difference in the the
1:20:38 frequency with which children actually acquire the virus or
1:20:43 their ability to transmit the
1:20:45 virus to others compared to adults well we haven’t had much
1:20:49 experience with that with
1:20:51 COVID right now now with the flu though we do know they can
1:20:56 transmit it pretty well now
1:20:58 part of that is due to the fact of their lack of you know
1:21:03 particularly the younger children
1:21:06 lack of hygiene manners and whatever because they haven’t
1:21:11 developed that that yet and they
1:21:13 don’t know to do respiratory etiquette they hand-washing is a
1:21:16 challenge and things along
1:21:18 those lines but with COVID we don’t particularly know per se
1:21:22 right yet the one study you’re
1:21:24 alluding to said that you know children under the age of 10 were
1:21:27 less likely to transmit
1:21:28 it over that where they were just as likely to transmit it in
1:21:31 that one study well one
1:21:32 thing you have to be careful about if I’ve learned over my 40
1:21:36 years there could be one
1:21:37 study that’s one study okay and what we like to do is a meta
1:21:41 analysis we like to look at
1:21:43 a lot of studies and then you get your experts to come in and
1:21:46 say okay this is a good science
1:21:48 here and these are the recommendations that we make from from
1:21:51 that so well I’ll be honest
1:21:53 as we said coming in we’re learning with this virus and so it’ll
1:21:59 be somewhat you know somewhat
1:22:02 later that we learn more about it okay and another one for you
1:22:08 Barry you said that there’s
1:22:10 been a vast amount of transmission indoors and that air
1:22:17 conditioning seems to transmit
1:22:20 the virus if there’s limited air circulation so does that mean
1:22:25 that in our in our classrooms
1:22:28 and in our schools we need to take extra precautions beyond so I
1:22:33 guess what I’m getting at is is
1:22:36 being six foot apart in a room like this safe to go maskless or
1:22:43 should we all be wearing
1:22:45 masks while sitting in this room well we should always wear a
1:22:50 mask whenever we can when we’re
1:22:52 around other people or whatever what I was alluding to is that
1:22:56 so far as when you know
1:22:58 if we’re outside and particularly in Florida it’s so hot and
1:23:01 humid and whatever we’re gonna
1:23:03 run inside because we’re perspiring you know and things like
1:23:09 that and so we run inside
1:23:11 and then when we run inside more people run inside and said more
1:23:15 likelihood that you transmit
1:23:16 the virus than being outside which we know UV lighting kills the
1:23:21 virus okay wind and
1:23:23 all that will separate the virus better and what and what have
1:23:27 you so and the heat you
1:23:28 know also deteriorates the virus a good bit so but the inside
1:23:32 you don’t necessarily have
1:23:34 that and particularly if you don’t have good air exchanges and
1:23:37 all that which I’m sure
1:23:39 you do you know in the classroom setting I think you have six to
1:23:43 ten air exchanges per
1:23:44 hour or whatever somewhere along in there that that that’s that
1:23:48 that’s what you want
1:23:50 to have happen you know I’ll add to that a little bit misty to
1:23:53 say masks aren’t the end
1:23:55 all answer social distancing is not the end all answer crowd
1:23:58 control is not the end all
1:24:00 answer it’s all the end all answer so three is better than one
1:24:05 two is better than one
1:24:07 but it’s really everything that’s going to decrease the product
1:24:12 and as Maria said you
1:24:14 know for us to believe we’re not going to have cases in school
1:24:17 whatever where they’re
1:24:19 going to happen but what we’re trying to do as we do in public
1:24:23 health is try to limit
1:24:24 limited numbers as best we can thank you very so I’m curious on
1:24:33 one of the recommendations
1:24:34 as far as return to school you indicated that if they are one
1:24:40 day without fever without
1:24:42 medication to keep it down that they are then safe to return to
1:24:47 school but I had made a
1:24:48 note that fever is one of the symptoms less than 50 percent of
1:24:54 the time so if less than
1:24:56 50 percent of the people have a fever should we be basing our
1:25:01 return to school on other
1:25:03 symptoms instead of fever oh yeah I think we said that you’ve
1:25:07 got to go ten days it’s
1:25:08 also ten days from the start yeah from the start so ten days
1:25:12 from their first onset of
1:25:14 symptoms of any kind or test or test or test and it’s not an or
1:25:21 it’s an and and 24 hour
1:25:24 it has to have decreasing symptoms but 24 hours of no fever with
1:25:29 no fever reducing medication
1:25:31 okay thank you for that clarification um in uh following up on
1:25:41 miss deskevich’s question
1:25:43 about the ten percent that you mentioned you said that you
1:25:47 follow the cdc and the state
1:25:49 is there a different do like florida we don’t have our own cdc
1:25:54 do we is it is it the cdc
1:25:56 is a federal agency the department of health guidelines come
1:26:00 from the cdc guidelines okay
1:26:02 so our department of health here at the state has recommended
1:26:05 that our target number is
1:26:07 ten percent yeah and that’s probably not in writing that’s what
1:26:11 governor desantis is saying
1:26:13 the single digits he feels any county that is in single digits
1:26:22 is doing well okay um
1:26:24 one of the um one of the comments that you all made was that you
1:26:28 are concerned about
1:26:29 what the kids bring into the school in reference to you know
1:26:34 what who they’re associating with
1:26:37 outside the school what their level of of risk is and the
1:26:41 decisions that they’re making
1:26:44 several of the experts have recently been talking about the
1:26:50 importance of getting our
1:26:53 positivity rates and number of cases down in our community
1:26:56 because of that concern indicating
1:26:59 that those countries that have opened successfully have had much
1:27:03 lower community transmission
1:27:05 levels so is that are you suggesting that the ten percent
1:27:10 anything under the ten percent
1:27:13 mark is sufficient to reduce our concern around that
1:27:21 i don’t think that’s that’s a much bigger question i think even
1:27:25 in our state you know
1:27:27 that’s that’s a federal federal question i can i can say i think
1:27:33 you know is don’t get
1:27:35 as focused on numbers as you are on trends that’s what i’m
1:27:38 saying we need to look at
1:27:40 trends right so you know if we see ourselves going up and up and
1:27:45 up and up and up then
1:27:46 that’s a danger signal you know that’s like whoa what’s going on
1:27:50 here but i wouldn’t be
1:27:52 as focused on numbers per se but the holistic trends and i can
1:27:57 say the only thing that we
1:27:59 really are a little bit high on right now is the deaths but i
1:28:02 think it’s related to
1:28:04 the increase of in fact i know it’s related to the increase of
1:28:07 cases that we saw two three
1:28:09 weeks ago okay um how do we we’ve we talked a little bit about
1:28:16 how brevard county compares
1:28:17 to the other surrounding counties the counties in our region
1:28:21 that sort of thing how do we
1:28:23 compare to the rest of the united states
1:28:29 brevard county to the rest of united states that’s kind of
1:28:33 difficult because there’s six
1:28:35 to seven thousand counties in the in the nation so i don’t know
1:28:39 i don’t have an answer for
1:28:40 that yeah if you’re going to compare to united states i think
1:28:43 you’ve got to compare the state
1:28:44 of florida to united states because you know we don’t have
1:28:46 breakdown of individual counties
1:28:48 within individual states i know i’m originally from buffalo
1:28:53 which is eerie county which had
1:28:55 nowhere near the cases that new york city had so that’s i don’t
1:29:00 think that’s anything
1:29:02 that that we can compare it’s a state state to state that needs
1:29:06 to be looked at yeah okay
1:29:08 and kind of related to that um is there any um does the trend in
1:29:16 our surrounding counties
1:29:19 have any impact on us locally so should we be concerned if we
1:29:22 you know brevard’s a long
1:29:24 county we’ve got several counties that surround us people are
1:29:27 back and forth between those
1:29:29 counties in brevard should we be looking at the trend of the
1:29:33 counties around us i think
1:29:35 it’s always good to look at the counties around us i can say
1:29:38 early on several months ago um
1:29:40 we were seeing um college kids coming over from orlando partying
1:29:45 on the beach you know
1:29:47 i mean that was something that’s happening it might still be
1:29:49 happening and then going
1:29:50 back but i think it’s also vice versa i think it’s our residents
1:29:54 going to orlando to doing
1:29:56 some fun stuff in orlando and coming back so that’s something
1:30:01 yes yes to always look at
1:30:04 i think one of the advantages and this is my opinion here i’m
1:30:07 not saying anything officially
1:30:09 but we have a long county we have a county 72 miles long and we
1:30:14 don’t have the urban
1:30:15 areas like in orlando or like in ossiola county i mean we have
1:30:19 the melbourne’s we have the
1:30:21 palm bays but they’re not that magnitude of the city so the
1:30:25 other thing is our mass transportation
1:30:27 um which you know other counties have you know is related to
1:30:31 some of their mass transportation
1:30:33 yes we have space costeria transit but we all know that is not
1:30:37 to the magnitude of new
1:30:39 york city subways you know so um we’re just we’re more world we’re
1:30:46 more spread out but
1:30:48 yes we always have that’s why we do do comparisons with
1:30:52 neighboring counties um you mentioned
1:30:55 that we should keep an eye on the death rate and the hospitalization
1:30:59 do those are those
1:31:00 two numbers significant because they’re indicative of um maybe
1:31:09 level of infection in the community
1:31:11 or are they more important as far as capacity of our hospitals
1:31:16 well both both yeah yeah
1:31:18 both i think um the level of the severity of what’s going on in
1:31:23 your community is definitely
1:31:25 going to measured by what’s going on in your hospitals because
1:31:27 the first thing that’s going
1:31:29 to happen is the severe severe patients are going into the
1:31:32 hospital um the second thing
1:31:33 that’s going to happen is those that are really severe in the
1:31:37 hospital might might die so
1:31:39 that’s why we do look at the at the death we look at the
1:31:42 hospitals we look at the cases
1:31:44 we don’t look at any one thing we look at it all got it um do
1:31:51 you all identify and there
1:31:53 was there was mentioned earlier of identifying by zip code um do
1:31:59 you all identify number
1:32:01 of cases per zip code or do you do you identify percent positive
1:32:06 in various zip codes it’s
1:32:09 number of cases and it’s on the report that comes out every day
1:32:13 okay actually florida
1:32:15 today reports it very well too every single day um is there
1:32:21 anywhere that we can track
1:32:24 test response time i know we’ve had some conversations and you
1:32:27 guys have been gracious enough to
1:32:29 share with us kind of what that lead time is is looking like but
1:32:32 is there any place
1:32:33 that that we can regularly track that no no but we could we
1:32:38 could definitely keep chris
1:32:41 um updated on that and it varies um you know and it varies and
1:32:47 it varies by lab um i can
1:32:49 say right now we’re running about a five to seven day a couple
1:32:53 weeks ago we were running
1:32:55 more of a seven seven to ten day um it does vary um and like i
1:33:00 said it varies by lab too
1:33:02 it varies by symptoms it varies by lab but we can certainly keep
1:33:07 chris um abreast and
1:33:09 she can let you all know um what our current current legs and
1:33:13 that’s only the labs that
1:33:15 we work with that we know um i know quest has given us notice
1:33:19 that they’re running about
1:33:21 a 14 day right now our state lab runs two to three i think lab
1:33:25 core is running about
1:33:26 seven to ten another lab that we use is mdl is more like five to
1:33:32 seven so it varies and
1:33:34 to be honest it is problematic for all of us that it varies
1:33:38 because as barry can tell
1:33:40 you sometimes we’ll get a positive case and they’re already past
1:33:44 their incubation period
1:33:47 you know so um and as you hear on the national media that is the
1:33:51 problem with the slowness
1:33:53 slowness of the labs but um it’s just due to the quantity that’s
1:33:57 out there right now
1:33:59 okay thank you um is is there any indication that um i think it
1:34:12 was mr susan that asked
1:34:13 about the asymptomatic percentage um is there indication that
1:34:18 children are more likely to
1:34:20 be asymptomatic and positive than adults i believe so i talked
1:34:26 to a pediatrician the
1:34:28 other day and and uh they probably are more likely to be asymptomatic
1:34:32 now their ability
1:34:34 to transmit that’s if they’re asymptomatic truly asymptomatic uh
1:34:39 is questionable questionable
1:34:42 at this point are they’re symptomatic certainly they’re asymptomatic
1:34:47 uh are they as likely
1:34:48 to transmit transmit it my thinking my opinion is and just
1:34:52 because i’ve worked with this
1:34:53 infectious diseases for a long time i don’t think they’re near
1:34:58 as likely because then
1:34:59 of the things we talked about before uh their anatomy they can’t
1:35:03 expel the virus as well
1:35:05 as an adult can miss belford if i could i interrupt for just one
1:35:11 second um because i
1:35:13 watched a panel of doctors from the children’s hospital in lee
1:35:17 county and because you just
1:35:18 said that um their statement was that children under either nine
1:35:22 or ten i can’t remember
1:35:24 the age the way in their opinion of what they’ve seen that it’s
1:35:29 transmitted is not through
1:35:31 i just i didn’t even write this down i just remembered was not
1:35:33 through um respiratory
1:35:37 thank you but through yeah through pcs basically poor hand
1:35:42 hygiene so you know another doctor
1:35:45 another opinion but that was a panel of experts with children no
1:35:48 that’s no i’d agree i’d agree
1:35:50 with that that’s that’s how they transmit it but you know do
1:35:53 they transmit it as well
1:35:54 as an adult or whatever in a setting particularly respiratory i
1:35:58 don’t think so but that’s just
1:36:00 my opinion yeah and to reiterate all communicable diseases hand
1:36:03 washing is so important yeah
1:36:04 i can’t you know we can’t overemphasize that since the beginning
1:36:07 of time i think hand washing
1:36:09 hand washing hand washing so if what ms deskevich just
1:36:14 referenced is true and transmission in
1:36:21 children under 10 is more likely to come from fecal matter poor
1:36:29 hand washing does that decrease
1:36:35 the importance of social distancing and masks in that age group
1:36:41 no no and i would say the
1:36:44 first thing is fecal matter doesn’t have anything to do with
1:36:47 this virus um it does other viruses
1:36:48 it does other illnesses um but um no i would say masks hand
1:36:54 washing social distancing those
1:36:58 are paramount you know we just need to keep doing that and i and
1:37:01 i appreciate the point
1:37:03 that was that was brought up the hand washing is uh you know is
1:37:07 extremely important particularly
1:37:10 in schools if i could go back a little bit in history me and maria
1:37:13 remembered this we
1:37:14 had some shegala problems in the school system okay and what got
1:37:19 us through that of course
1:37:21 there’s kids not coming to school with diarrhea helps a lot but
1:37:26 also the hand washing program
1:37:28 that we implemented back then that helped us to have to turn the
1:37:32 tide on that because
1:37:33 what we had in the late 90s was was pretty impressive some of
1:37:37 the outbreaks that we had
1:37:38 with that so i can’t overemphasize that that’s extremely
1:37:43 important as it always is so on
1:37:45 that point you mentioned a hand washing program obviously we are
1:37:50 encouraging that people wash
1:37:52 their hands on a regular basis after they’ve touched their face
1:37:55 removed their mask whatever
1:37:56 um is there a recommendation for a specific hand washing
1:38:01 frequency like the other day
1:38:04 i was in the classroom the teacher said we wash our hands every
1:38:09 hour um my philosophy
1:38:11 if you’re if you’re doing nothing go wash your hands if you’re
1:38:14 standing around whatever
1:38:15 go wash your hands use the alcohol hand rinse you know or you
1:38:18 know use soap and water i
1:38:20 mean we can’t and particularly if you’re in a group setting you’re
1:38:24 in the hospital you’re
1:38:25 in a nursing home you’re in a school whatever you know use the
1:38:29 alcohol hand rinse okay get
1:38:32 up from your desk you’re going to do something use the you know
1:38:35 use the sanitizer wash your
1:38:36 hands okay um i think that might be all of the questions that i
1:38:47 have for you right now
1:38:48 thank you so much i appreciate you mr susan you miss deskevich
1:38:54 do you have follow-up just
1:38:56 a few uh you recommended and so did the american the latest
1:38:59 letter from the american academy
1:39:01 of pediatrics the flu shot for all students and maybe miss moore
1:39:04 this might be a little
1:39:05 bit more for you sorry you just are about to walk away what um
1:39:11 are we able to provide
1:39:13 the potential for parents if they choose to have their students
1:39:17 get the flu shot are we
1:39:18 able to do that on our campuses in any capacity i’d have to work
1:39:22 with the department of health
1:39:25 to determine if that was going to if we would be able to do that
1:39:28 through the clinic for
1:39:29 students i haven’t had that conversation yet so it’s a
1:39:33 conversation we can have and there
1:39:36 are private organizations out there that that can come into the
1:39:41 schools and do and do flu
1:39:44 shots so absolutely there is um and we can work with chris on
1:39:47 there with parental permission
1:39:48 right i don’t want i don’t want anyone watching this to think we
1:39:51 are going to be forced flu
1:39:52 shotting students always always always with parental permission
1:39:56 yeah thank you chris deskevich
1:39:58 in response to the earlier question about flu shots for
1:40:01 employees we do have planned
1:40:03 again this year to have flu shots available in our schools
1:40:06 across the district for employees
1:40:07 okay so we do provide in our schools flu shots for employees at
1:40:11 no cost at no cost thank
1:40:15 you sir and at our district offices i got mine last year in
1:40:19 training room 78 yeah they’ve
1:40:20 been doing it for years yeah thank you very much um i have a
1:40:26 question that maybe you can’t
1:40:27 answer but i want to ask it why uh you know why do you think the
1:40:32 surgeon general recommends
1:40:34 groups of 10 for statewide when there’s such vast differences in
1:40:40 the rates between some
1:40:42 counties and others why why would bevard be being treated the
1:40:46 same as miami at this point
1:40:48 well i guess i can’t read the surgeon general’s mind understand
1:40:52 but um what i would state
1:40:54 is you know all florida counties are connected you know we’re
1:40:58 all you can’t really can you
1:41:00 say volusia county is this way and brevard county’s this way and
1:41:04 seminal county’s this
1:41:05 way so you really do have to develop somewhat of a standard we
1:41:09 are lower than the rest but
1:41:11 yet we’re in it we’re in it just like everybody else so the
1:41:15 distinction has more been between
1:41:17 the phase one counties and the phase two counties um but things
1:41:21 were increasing a little bit
1:41:23 statewide um and even the beginning of july our cases were
1:41:26 increasing too so i think it
1:41:28 just went along with you know just like governor de santis
1:41:32 opened the bars and closed the bars
1:41:34 um and boy did we see a surge i think the beginning surge in the
1:41:38 beginning of july was
1:41:39 related to the bars opening up in what was it mid-june i mean we
1:41:44 were definitely seeing
1:41:46 statewide was so i guess like i said i can’t read his mind but
1:41:51 um it’s yeah the crowds
1:41:53 need to stay down yeah if i could give you an example kind of in
1:41:57 june we were running
1:41:58 maybe 30 40 cases a week and then we got to the end of june
1:42:02 first of july and went to
1:42:04 a 1200 cases 1200 cases so that’s going to change you know just
1:42:10 going to change your
1:42:12 recommendations uh and that’s just for our county of course i’m
1:42:16 saying i’m saying so
1:42:17 well i think we have to be clear on what you’re just saying
1:42:20 because we only have 5312 positive
1:42:22 residents so 1200 yes we did so we’re having 1200 a week no 1200
1:42:28 in one week okay since
1:42:30 since then we’ve had about oh seven or eight hundred cases a
1:42:34 week so so see we see trending
1:42:37 down yeah we have somewhat or leveling off at about 800 it’s
1:42:40 leveling off at around 800
1:42:42 or so okay thank you okay now i’m going to push a little bit
1:42:47 here because i feel strongly
1:42:49 that there’s a distinction from everything that i’ve read
1:42:53 between children and adults
1:42:54 and as i was even sitting here i i even drew more of a
1:42:58 distinction so um i have two studies
1:43:01 that i have seen um you know one from germany one from france
1:43:06 that say that the research
1:43:08 and this one was with 2 000 children shows that children are not
1:43:12 spreading it and i i
1:43:13 think it’s probably partially if i had to guess because you’re
1:43:16 saying they can’t project
1:43:17 it the way and partially because of the doctors in the south
1:43:19 that said it’s being transmitted
1:43:21 through different avenues and so i just want to reiterate that
1:43:28 you know i’ve been harping
1:43:29 on the zero to four with hardly any cases and the five to
1:43:33 fourteen with still very few
1:43:35 cases then the next level on our chart or on the states um the
1:43:39 dashboard from the department
1:43:41 of health is 15 to 24 and at first i thought that men are
1:43:47 teenagers were not doing what
1:43:49 they were supposed to and they had bad behavior and that’s why
1:43:52 it was spreading but then i
1:43:54 just broke out the numbers because when we look at the pediatric
1:43:57 report it said there’s
1:43:58 only 274 cases and so if we take out the zero through 14 and
1:44:04 then subtract that from the
1:44:06 number of 15 to the 24 which was 986 if you guys aren’t
1:44:11 following me i can reiterate this
1:44:13 short answer is the 15 to 18 year olds there’s only 89 of them
1:44:17 so our teenagers aren’t acting
1:44:19 irresponsibly at this moment um i just think it’s it’s it’s a
1:44:24 little um confusing to look
1:44:26 at 15 to 24 and think of i was in my mind i was thinking high
1:44:29 schoolers oh that’s high
1:44:31 schoolers but then when i pulled out 19 to 24 it turns out there
1:44:35 was only 89 of them
1:44:36 since march that have been tested tested positive in all of brevard
1:44:40 county so it’s not really
1:44:42 a question for you that was more of a statement for i would ditto
1:44:45 what you’re saying um and
1:44:46 it’s like what i said we have seen a surge in college um you
1:44:52 know some of our cases are
1:44:56 college age students that live in orlando which you know the
1:45:00 case gets counted by where
1:45:01 their home zip code is so we have definitely seen which would be
1:45:07 in that 15 to 24 age group
1:45:10 that would make sense and if they might not even be in brevard
1:45:12 but they’re getting counted
1:45:13 in the brevard correct well they sir they they they their home
1:45:18 residence is brevard you
1:45:19 don’t know when they’re coming home but well similarly so if
1:45:22 they get tested in brevard
1:45:23 in their positive case case it’s getting tracked back teenagers
1:45:27 are naughty our college kids
1:45:29 are the ones that aren’t being responsible and that’s or they’re
1:45:32 in more or they’re in
1:45:33 more they’re in locations where there’s more spread correct yes
1:45:38 uh and what we were sick
1:45:39 because i was interviewing some of those college students and
1:45:43 they were around the ucf area
1:45:45 um so when things when the bars opened up they were going to the
1:45:48 bars and whatever and
1:45:49 remember the you know they live in a an apartment and they may
1:45:52 have three or four roommates
1:45:54 or whatever and if one of them gets it then the others are very
1:45:57 likely to acquire to that
1:45:58 that point but yeah definitely it’s the 20 to 24 that’s where
1:46:02 the bulk of the numbers
1:46:03 were coming from yeah and you know what and that’s to reiterate
1:46:06 the cases get counted
1:46:07 by home zip code yeah thank you very much that’s all i have miss
1:46:12 belford miss campbell
1:46:14 did you have any follow-up nope got that miss mcduke or any
1:46:18 follow-up questions no i’m good
1:46:20 thank you mr susan follow-up question yeah i wanted to speak to
1:46:24 the viral load there’s
1:46:25 countless studies that show that students have based on their
1:46:29 age have less viral loads
1:46:31 all over like uh european models and american models there’s a
1:46:35 bunch of them out there um
1:46:36 asymptomatic um and there’s a lot of studies on that too about
1:46:40 whether they can spread
1:46:41 or not so that’s easy to find um here’s one for you so what
1:46:46 could our school district
1:46:48 do because right now we’re talking about testing and back end
1:46:51 and prevention one of the other
1:46:52 things we’re not talking about is what our school district could
1:46:55 be doing to build immunity
1:46:57 to build um those kind of things do you guys have
1:46:59 recommendations coming out for that kind
1:47:01 of stuff meaning that right now we’re testing we’re looking that
1:47:04 you had said sir that you
1:47:05 had made some uh you had worked on something about hand washing
1:47:08 and stuff like that back
1:47:09 in the day do you guys have anything for our staff that would be
1:47:13 hey you guys if you’re
1:47:14 doing these steps you could reduce the amount of time that you’re
1:47:17 sick or anything like
1:47:19 that is that do you guys have any recommendations in that it’s
1:47:22 the same old recommendations
1:47:24 we’re talking about because right now like barry said there’s no
1:47:27 treatment there’s no
1:47:28 vaccine so your main recommendations are going to be masks hand
1:47:34 washing social distancing
1:47:37 avoiding crowds um and staying home if you’re sick you know to
1:47:42 minimizing the spread so
1:47:44 that’s um to say um what can you do i think the big thing is to
1:47:50 encourage employees to
1:47:53 stay home sick encourage parents to keep their children home if
1:47:57 they’re sick and i know that’s
1:47:59 very difficult i was a school nurse myself in buffalo back in i
1:48:03 don’t even know when
1:48:05 it was i think it was the 80s i moved here in 94 and it’s no
1:48:09 different now than it was
1:48:11 then you know the parents have to work the parents aren’t
1:48:14 getting paid if they’re home
1:48:16 sick so they’re sending their children not all the time but
1:48:19 sometimes sending their children
1:48:21 to school sick and um that’s no i i i totally understand that
1:48:26 piece of it what i where i
1:48:28 was going at is is that there’s a lot of individuals that are
1:48:32 out there um that are trying to become
1:48:34 more healthy do take more types of um vitamin c’s and all that
1:48:38 other stuff and i think that
1:48:40 in some cases there’s some individuals um i had asked before for
1:48:44 our wellness because
1:48:45 that’s kind of what our wellness centers should be set up for is
1:48:48 to set up for the wellness
1:48:49 of our community and our our our employees um so i had asked for
1:48:53 that as far as a deliverable
1:48:55 so that we could have some sort of a playbook for our our our
1:48:59 teachers that may not be you
1:49:00 know what i mean educated on those kind of processes um and i
1:49:03 just didn’t know if the
1:49:05 doh had anything that was out there that you guys were giving
1:49:07 out that was along those
1:49:08 lines to try to assist in that that’s all for the recovery right
1:49:14 okay um uh so my grandmother
1:49:16 tested positive and then everybody freaked out went got tested
1:49:20 and then she tested negative
1:49:21 negative can you tell me how that gets recorded so she was
1:49:26 tested positive and then like four
1:49:28 days later she took her two days later she took another test it
1:49:31 was negative another
1:49:32 test negative she showed no signs um how does that get recorded
1:49:36 inside is there a double
1:49:37 negative cancels out the positive or are they all recorded no
1:49:40 they’re recorded okay all
1:49:42 right and then um um i i have a question and it’s going to kind
1:49:47 of go to the next one but
1:49:49 you had said that if i am if i have some kind of symptoms i’m
1:49:54 out for 10 days until the
1:49:56 and then 24 hours with no fever without the medications is there
1:50:00 a another way that in
1:50:02 between their individuals or employees inside that 10 days do
1:50:06 not exhibit a temperature
1:50:08 can go get a rapid test and then return back or are you guys
1:50:11 making it say hey look you’re
1:50:12 out for 10 days no matter what if you’re a case if you’re a case
1:50:18 it it doesn’t really
1:50:19 matter remember what we said with the rapid test a negative
1:50:22 doesn’t mean it’s a negative
1:50:24 it’s a 50 false rate so if you’re a positive case you need to
1:50:30 stay home for 10 days and
1:50:33 and actually the recommendation changed in the last couple weeks
1:50:38 but um it is 10 days
1:50:39 from the date of your test or the date of the start of symptoms
1:50:44 and 24 hours post fever
1:50:47 with no medications sure for the non-positive case individuals
1:50:53 is there a scenario that
1:50:56 they are sent home for 10 days upon being an associate of the
1:51:00 family member of all of
1:51:02 that right what needs to be determined is who’s an essential
1:51:05 employee and who’s a non-essential
1:51:07 employee okay the recommendation for an ascent and that’s
1:51:11 something that you will all have
1:51:13 to do i know for my agency who’s essential employees so an
1:51:18 essential being exposed yes
1:51:20 can come to back to work with mandatory masks and daily symptom
1:51:26 temperature checks non-essential
1:51:29 employees need to stay home for 14 days okay and we
1:51:34 differentiated that by if it’s a live-in
1:51:38 contact or just a close contact if it’s a live-in contact we
1:51:42 follow the 14-day rule
1:51:44 it’s a mom and a son or a husband and a wife we follow the 14-day
1:51:48 rule if it’s a contact
1:51:50 that you spent more than 15 minutes in within 60 and just in in
1:51:54 the way we’re following
1:51:56 the plan um and you’re an essential worker you come back with
1:52:00 the face mask and the health
1:52:01 check yeah that’s that’s where because i i i did some i i called
1:52:06 around to some of my
1:52:07 friends that are first responders and ask them how their
1:52:10 processes are working both
1:52:11 with firefighters with ambulatory workers with hospital workers
1:52:14 and everything else
1:52:15 and it was following more of what you were just saying rather
1:52:18 than what some of the stuff
1:52:20 we were can you can you speak to um because this is part of
1:52:23 where i was going to go with
1:52:25 that question um sheriffs firefighters ambulatories hospitals
1:52:30 are you aware of some of their plans
1:52:32 and can you give us any kind of light like firefighters in the
1:52:36 area um one of them was
1:52:37 telling me that if there’s a positive covid case from an
1:52:40 individual or a possible one
1:52:42 that person is sent home no matter what if you do you have any
1:52:44 kind of knowledge of some
1:52:46 of the stuff that’s going on out there i can tell you the
1:52:48 hospitals are following the essential
1:52:49 worker rule barry probably can tell better on the first
1:52:54 responders um they’re following
1:52:57 the essential rules i know we’ve had uh just because sometimes
1:53:02 the the um the fire stations
1:53:04 you have they have a limited number yes sir and and if you sent
1:53:08 everybody’s contact home
1:53:09 where there’d be no fire station open yep so so they’re
1:53:13 essential so um but uh and you
1:53:15 know they they live together for the three days or whatever that
1:53:18 they do you know uh
1:53:20 while they’re on duty uh for that so they take special
1:53:23 precautions they take temperatures
1:53:25 uh we recommend like uh every four four to six hours take their
1:53:29 temperature and monitor
1:53:31 for any kind of signs and symptoms and if they become ill then
1:53:34 of course they’ll get
1:53:35 tested and usually we do the testing for them at the health
1:53:38 department and those are individuals
1:53:40 that had tested positive or had been around somebody that was an
1:53:43 essential worker that
1:53:44 had come back and they were doing the four to six or is that
1:53:46 every four to six hours
1:53:48 they’re being tested no no no that that’s for someone that they
1:53:51 had that was positive
1:53:52 in in their fire station got it and can you walk through that
1:53:56 one more time because i
1:53:57 i think that’s very interesting to me how you have your
1:54:00 essential workers working you
1:54:01 have they test positive and then walk me through how they can
1:54:06 come back what is that again
1:54:08 i’m sorry well they um did the how the worker could come back
1:54:13 yes sir so i’m in a firehouse
1:54:15 i test positive um is there an opportunity besides waiting the
1:54:19 10 days we had just said
1:54:21 no no no not on a positive okay the positive is the positive is
1:54:25 home positive so it’s the
1:54:27 context of the positive it’s a contact yeah and then the contact
1:54:31 is a positive how does
1:54:32 that work for the essential workers one more time well then then
1:54:35 they’re a case they’re
1:54:37 a positive no i don’t think that’s what he’s saying is that what
1:54:40 you’re saying no ma’am
1:54:41 if if i don’t test positive but somebody that i am within the
1:54:45 the scope of contact their
1:54:47 contact what is that process and how do they come back okay in
1:54:50 the fire station uh then
1:54:52 what they’ll do is they’ll monitor them very closely for any
1:54:54 signs and symptoms if they
1:54:56 develop any signs and symptoms they’ll be sent to be tested they’ll
1:54:59 wear their mask
1:55:00 uh they wear their mask and those sort of things they practice
1:55:03 good hygiene and all
1:55:04 that and they do this for the 14-day period i see what you’re
1:55:08 saying so they’re so they’re
1:55:10 deemed under some kind of a probationary period where they’re
1:55:14 being checked and monitored
1:55:16 and all that for that 14-day period because they’re essential
1:55:19 and they may not have been
1:55:20 infected and they’re doing that okay right okay and mandatory
1:55:25 masks yes mandatory no
1:55:27 i know and that’s that’s the next question that i had um both
1:55:31 sheriffs that are being
1:55:33 that are making contact with other people firefighters who are
1:55:37 making contact with other
1:55:39 people ambulatory individuals that are making contact with other
1:55:44 people and hospitals that
1:55:46 are making contact with any people those are all mandatory masks
1:55:49 as we speak right yes
1:55:51 yeah okay all right um and i was going to say some of that um is
1:56:03 mandatory by the agency
1:56:06 because you know we don’t have a county-wide mask mandate um no
1:56:11 i know i know yeah i know
1:56:13 i do know the ones that i checked in with which are in my area
1:56:16 are the ones that follow
1:56:18 what you just said so that’s that and then um okay i’m good i
1:56:24 had some stuff from us
1:56:26 more later but that’s not for them thank you any miss duskovich
1:56:30 you look like you have
1:56:32 a follow-up perhaps yes just one more it’s about overall opening
1:56:39 and closing i feel like
1:56:41 you’ve given us great information about opening compared to
1:56:46 other districts the 10 positivity
1:56:48 rate the trajectory trajectory at what point would we not want
1:57:03 to let’s see is it once
1:57:05 we get over 10 in climb then we need to consider as an
1:57:09 organization sending everybody back
1:57:11 home to e-learning i don’t know how to put that more eloquently
1:57:16 but in my mind i want
1:57:17 to know okay it seems like we’re in the range to open now with
1:57:21 all with the plan that you
1:57:23 said is is a good solid plan but at what point or do we look as
1:57:28 a community and go uh-oh
1:57:30 we are in the wrong direction this is not going well and we need
1:57:33 to meet and rediscuss
1:57:34 this situation i feel it’s the trending definitely am i off
1:57:39 again you’ve got i mean you gotta
1:57:41 have it like an i have to just hold it okay definitely the
1:57:45 trending you know like i said
1:57:47 not the because you we might have a blip that we might be 11 one
1:57:51 day and then drop down
1:57:53 to six the next day so it’s definitely the trending um it’s
1:57:58 definitely you know communicating
1:58:01 with let’s see what’s going on in the schools you know are we
1:58:05 seeing cases in the schools
1:58:08 i mean that might be an indicator right there um if we’re seeing
1:58:12 multiple especially multiple
1:58:15 unrelated cases in the schools you know if it’s ones that are
1:58:19 known contacts or same
1:58:20 classroom that’s different than sporadic different schools and
1:58:25 and a bunch going on so i think
1:58:28 it’s something to look at and then as always if we see something
1:58:32 going on we are in communication
1:58:34 with epidemiology and Tallahassee and you know saying hey what
1:58:38 do you guys think here
1:58:39 you know so but it’s the overall trending and what’s going on
1:58:43 and i’m not sure we can
1:58:44 give a black and white answer there it’s really what’s going on
1:58:48 but we are definitely here
1:58:50 for you guys so i mean it’s not i mean we just all need to work
1:58:55 together on this we
1:58:56 how many times do we talk with with Chris and Beth on a daily
1:59:00 basis is multitude so
1:59:02 um i know we’re here for you but i don’t think it’s a black and
1:59:05 white answer it’s really
1:59:07 what’s going on in the community what’s going on in the schools
1:59:09 well i just want to say
1:59:10 if i can talk about other infectious diseases for a minute we
1:59:15 see blips like this all the
1:59:16 time and i’m always very cautious uh to okay what does that mean
1:59:21 okay we see the blip that
1:59:23 goes above the percentage or ratio or whatever what does that
1:59:28 mean and many times we’re we’re
1:59:30 cautious to see what happens of course with the trend over time
1:59:34 sometimes that blip happens
1:59:36 for for whatever reason sometimes are we testing more that day
1:59:40 um was there some event or something
1:59:42 like that and then it happens out one day and then it drops down
1:59:45 so no we got to look
1:59:46 at the trend and just as Maria said and all the other aspects of
1:59:50 what’s going on did it
1:59:52 happen in one classroom was there some event or something that
1:59:55 occurred we look at all
1:59:56 that and and then we can make a more a better evaluation thank
2:00:01 you what’s that miss belford
2:00:03 that’s camera when you follow up no i i appreciate the the
2:00:09 candid nature that what you’re answering
2:00:12 our questions i think that’s transparency and transparency
2:00:15 especially right now or you
2:00:16 know people are worried that you guys are being told to you know
2:00:20 shut up and don’t say
2:00:21 anything and you have been very i’ve communicated you have been
2:00:23 part of the plan an integral
2:00:25 part of the plan you’re sharing with us today i know that um
2:00:29 miss moore is on regular you
2:00:31 know speed dial with all of you guys to get as we’ve had cases
2:00:34 come up and had to deal
2:00:35 with them in our schools and and you’re you know you’re giving
2:00:38 us all the precautions
2:00:39 and and guidance and so i just very much appreciate um your
2:00:42 answers today and your presence through
2:00:45 the whole process and that you’re not done being with us through
2:00:52 the process we’re here
2:00:54 for the entire community and the school district is a huge part
2:00:57 of our entire community so
2:00:59 we are here mr susan any additional follow-up yes can we is
2:01:08 there and i asked this before
2:01:10 and i don’t know if i got a can we do address back check meaning
2:01:14 that somebody tests positive
2:01:17 in your department of health is there a way for us i know hippo
2:01:20 violations and everything
2:01:22 else to send that address or that information to the school
2:01:26 district on the back end so
2:01:28 that we know prior to that family trying to bring those children
2:01:31 to the school does that
2:01:32 make sense to you it’s a way of another line of defense yeah it
2:01:36 makes sense but i don’t
2:01:37 think we can do that and would that be because of the state’s
2:01:41 barriers or is it’s all part
2:01:43 of hippo it would be part of a hippo violation because it would
2:01:47 be identifiable information
2:01:49 so we would not be able to do that i got you okay and then have
2:01:59 you seen because you’re
2:02:00 the department of health and it just came to me have you seen
2:02:04 any other anomalies due
2:02:06 to the environment of covid besides the positive tests of covid
2:02:09 have you seen other things
2:02:11 inside the department of health that you guys monitor that are
2:02:13 that are up or down because
2:02:15 of it social emotional any any in that realm any of that kind of
2:02:22 stuff are you asking us
2:02:23 personally or no i can definitely tell you amongst our employees
2:02:29 i can’t speak of the
2:02:31 community at large because we really just do we do the case
2:02:35 investigations and contact
2:02:37 investigations however we’re not the medical providers we’re not
2:02:41 the one um but i can tell
2:02:43 you our employees absolutely absolutely it’s affecting them okay
2:02:49 thank you yes mcdugill
2:02:51 any follow-up no i just want to thank you all very much it’s
2:02:56 been very helpful information
2:02:57 and i really like how you clearly outline the importance of the
2:03:00 guidelines and steps
2:03:02 we need to take to mitigate the spread thank you thank you miss
2:03:06 mcdugill um i just have
2:03:08 one quick follow-up i promise quick this time there was mention
2:03:13 of hospital capacity um
2:03:15 and i think you indicated that there was i’m looking on your
2:03:17 dashboard and i’m not seeing
2:03:19 the hospital capacity information there but i think you
2:03:21 indicated there was some place
2:03:22 that we could access that yes um and the hospitals are regulated
2:03:26 by aka which is the agency for
2:03:28 health care administration and the reports for the hospitals
2:03:33 come out from them so i
2:03:34 will definitely send the public aka link to um chris and she can
2:03:39 send it out but that’s
2:03:40 also updated um daily and it’s um you can see all the all the
2:03:45 hospitals in the whole
2:03:47 state on that but you can break it down to brevard county you
2:03:50 could break it down the
2:03:51 individual hospitals and it will tell you um hospital and icu
2:03:57 capacity you know for
2:03:59 all of our hospitals and then what the census is in the
2:04:01 hospitals so do we have any individual
2:04:03 hospitals in brevard county that are currently stretched for
2:04:07 capacity i was going to say
2:04:09 not stretch for capacity they’re all busy they’re all busy they
2:04:13 all have capacity on
2:04:14 any given day one or two of the hospitals um reach their icu
2:04:20 census um but as i say
2:04:23 they can convert other rooms so there’s been capacity all along
2:04:27 at all of the hospitals
2:04:29 um so how many of them would you suggest are reaching their
2:04:35 census and having to expand
2:04:36 capacity is that tracked or are we just it’s you could see it by
2:04:40 hospital by the bed capacity
2:04:42 in the ICU capacity.
2:04:45 Remember Health First is a huge network.
2:04:47 their capacity is within their four hospitals.
2:04:51 Four hospitals, yeah, four hospitals.
2:04:54 Parrish is a little more singular and a little smaller,
2:04:57 so they may reach capacity a little sooner.
2:05:01 But there’s a surge plan for the hospitals
2:05:06 within emergency management and ourselves.
2:05:09 And the first step of the surge plan
2:05:13 is that hospitals amongst themselves
2:05:16 look at isolation units in different rooms
2:05:18 within their own hospital.
2:05:20 The second part of the surge plan,
2:05:22 which we’ve not had to go to,
2:05:24 would be other hospitals helping out.
2:05:26 So say Parrish didn’t have capacity,
2:05:29 but Rockledge did, then it would be worked out.
2:05:33 And we have hospital calls twice a week.
2:05:36 So we do talk about this all the time.
2:05:39 The third part of the surge plan
2:05:40 is actually an alternate hospital site,
2:05:43 which you’ve seen happen in Miami and New York.
2:05:47 We’re far, far, far from there.
2:05:50 But that would be the third part of the surge plan.
2:05:52 But each hospital system, although they’re singular,
2:05:55 we all work together.
2:05:59 - All right, I’ll do one last call
2:06:01 for any additional questions for our awesome partners
2:06:04 from the Department of Health.
2:06:07 All right, thank you so much
2:06:08 for helping us through all of this.
2:06:10 We appreciate it.
2:06:12 - All right, they promised us two hours,
2:06:14 and I think it is two hours and one minute on the dot.
2:06:18 - We did it.
2:06:19 - Good timing.
2:06:23 Board members, I would like to request
2:06:25 that we take a brief recess for restroom breaks,
2:06:29 make sure we address our hydration, that sort of thing,
2:06:31 before we get into the discussion of our metrics and masks,
2:06:34 if you guys are okay with that.
2:06:36 - Also, Ms. Belfer, I just found the ACCA website,
2:06:39 and I just sent you guys the link
2:06:41 to the hospital capacity surveillance,
2:06:43 so you can take a look at that.
2:06:44 - Thank you, Ms. Campbell.
2:06:45 All right, we’re gonna go ahead
2:06:46 and take about a five-minute recess,
2:06:48 and then we will come back.
2:07:01 (upbeat music)
2:17:55 (gavel bangs)
2:17:57 - Good afternoon.
2:17:58 We are back in session with our work session this afternoon.
2:18:02 Just as a reminder for board members,
2:18:03 we were scheduled to begin our workshop at 2 p.m.,
2:18:10 which gives us about 45 minutes to wrap up this discussion.
2:18:14 We may need to discuss where we go
2:18:18 if we’re not finished with our discussion.
2:18:21 Just for clarity, we had two items
2:18:25 that we were supposed to be discussing today,
2:18:28 masks and metrics.
2:18:32 So I believe, if I recall correctly,
2:18:36 Mr. Susan, you were the one who wanted to give
2:18:37 a little more time before making a decision on mask language
2:18:40 so you could get some research in there.
2:18:43 Did you wanna open up discussion on masks?
2:18:45 Or did you, how would you like to proceed on that?
2:18:50 - I did a lot of research on my own.
2:18:54 And I don’t know how, Madam Chair,
2:18:56 how you would like to do it.
2:18:56 If you would like me to present all the stuff I’ve got,
2:18:58 would you like other people to weigh in?
2:19:00 I don’t know, whatever you think
2:19:01 the formal format would be for those.
2:19:04 - How about if we do this?
2:19:05 Just to do a check-in and see where everyone is.
2:19:08 I’ll just ask each board member
2:19:10 if you prefer to stick with our current expected language
2:19:15 or if you would like to modify that language in either way.
2:19:19 Does that work?
2:19:20 And then we can kind of see where we’re at.
2:19:22 Mr. Susan.
2:19:23 - Modify.
2:19:24 - Ms. Campbell.
2:19:33 - I would like to keep it the way that it is.
2:19:35 - Ms. Deskovich.
2:19:41 Just to keep her modified
2:19:42 and then we’ll see where everyone’s at and we’ll,
2:19:44 and then we can go into actual discussions.
2:19:46 - Not quite that easy.
2:19:48 I am satisfied with the current language.
2:19:51 I could adjust in age brackets
2:19:55 or some type of discussion of that way
2:19:57 if that’s where the board wanted to go.
2:19:59 - Okay.
2:20:00 Ms. McDougall.
2:20:01 - Modify.
2:20:02 - Okay.
2:20:04 All right, Mr.
2:20:06 - What about you?
2:20:07 Are you in for modification?
2:20:08 - I’m in for modification.
2:20:09 - Okay.
2:20:10 - So Mr. Susan, if you would like to start the discussion
2:20:14 perhaps with what your recommendation is
2:20:17 and we can see where that goes and then.
2:20:20 - Sure.
2:20:21 I’d like to modify the mask
2:20:24 from being expected to being required.
2:20:28 And based upon a couple of issues that I have
2:20:31 that I’ve done some research on
2:20:33 and I would like to touch on those
2:20:35 and then take any questions and move from there.
2:20:40 The first one is, is that this basically
2:20:44 doesn’t have anything to do,
2:20:46 this decision doesn’t have anything to do for me
2:20:48 besides economics and social impacts
2:20:51 on our society based upon school closures
2:20:54 and the individuals that are inside of them.
2:20:57 When I looked at how I felt about various different issues
2:21:01 on here, one of the ones that kept coming to me
2:21:04 which we all know about
2:21:06 is that when our schools are closed, our students are hungry
2:21:09 and there’s multiple, multiple studies that have shown
2:21:14 that over the pandemic,
2:21:16 we have students that are starving right now
2:21:20 and the mental, physical, behavioral, emotional
2:21:23 and learning problems that go along with that
2:21:26 are significant.
2:21:27 And the longer the kids are out, the more often that they are
2:21:31 that they are going to inhibit more of those same problems.
2:21:36 The other one is, is that women in the workforce
2:21:39 have been significantly impacted when our schools are closed.
2:21:44 Currently, the women from the time of our great recession
2:21:49 until now have increased workforce of 11.1 million jobs
2:21:55 and due to the pandemic, they have at a greater percentage
2:21:59 lost their jobs than men.
2:22:01 And the reason behind that is,
2:22:03 is because they are the main caregivers
2:22:05 and it’s to the point of 25.5 million jobs that they’ve lost.
2:22:09 So they have lost over twice as many jobs
2:22:13 than they have gained over the last six months.
2:22:17 The problem that you have there is,
2:22:19 is that based upon the socioeconomic status
2:22:22 is where I’m hinging a lot of this out
2:22:24 is that a lot of our single moms that are at home
2:22:27 are the ones that have been contacting me
2:22:29 to make sure that our kids go back to school.
2:22:32 And for everybody that’s sitting here wondering
2:22:34 why I’m talking about going back to school or coming back,
2:22:37 I truly believe with the current standards
2:22:39 that our school district has for closing a school
2:22:41 is going to inhibit an increase based upon
2:22:45 if we are not mandating masks
2:22:47 and I’ll go into the other pieces.
2:22:49 Currently, just as another point right now,
2:22:53 reports of online predators based upon social problems,
2:22:57 106% increase on the dark web,
2:23:00 over 100% increase on cyber tip lines
2:23:03 on individuals that are taking advantage of our students
2:23:06 because they are currently at home and on social media.
2:23:12 And then I wanna get into the fact
2:23:14 that every one of our military defense centers
2:23:18 are all mandatory masked.
2:23:21 So right now, every base, everywhere
2:23:23 that we have any of our personnel is mandatory masked
2:23:26 in areas that they have less than six feet.
2:23:29 And every military high school, middle school
2:23:33 and elementary school is mandating masks currently.
2:23:36 And they are all opening between August 10th and August 24th.
2:23:41 I have here every one of the full-time in-person options
2:23:45 that is here and it says social screening
2:23:49 prior upon arrival, social distancing and face coverings.
2:23:55 Everything from the DODE is inside here also.
2:23:59 So basically with a lot of the fact
2:24:02 that what happens when our school system closes
2:24:06 is where I hinge my argument
2:24:08 to make it mandatory for masks and I’ll tell you why.
2:24:12 If it has been proven that the masks
2:24:15 reduce the amount of spread that occur inside of a school
2:24:18 or inside of a room between two individuals,
2:24:21 then if a school closes because we don’t have the,
2:24:27 we don’t have the right parts in place,
2:24:30 then we are going to negatively impact our economy,
2:24:33 negatively impact our children,
2:24:35 negatively impact our workforce.
2:24:37 And I think it behooves us to make every single precaution
2:24:40 that we can to get there.
2:24:42 And so that is my beginning.
2:24:43 With the back end of that,
2:24:46 saying that there are some changes
2:24:48 and I read part of the Department of Defense’s regulations
2:24:53 and I’d like to make some modifications to that,
2:24:55 but in the early years and with ESE,
2:24:58 but I was gonna say we did ask the district
2:25:01 to come forward with a recommendation based upon that
2:25:04 and if they wanted to weigh in also.
2:25:10 - Ms. McDougall, did you want to speak?
2:25:16 - I can certainly speak.
2:25:17 What we heard just a few minutes ago
2:25:20 from the Health Department,
2:25:23 what they recommended,
2:25:25 masks, social distancing, hand washing, not large groups.
2:25:31 So I certainly am not going off of mandating masks
2:25:35 and I like what Ms. Sisson’s saying about, it does,
2:25:39 he’s right, it will affect, it has affected our single mom,
2:25:43 our working families.
2:25:45 And if we can help prevent the spread,
2:25:48 I think it’s in the new stuff.
2:25:49 Looking at the newest report
2:25:52 from the Florida Pediatric Society,
2:25:56 again, they talk about the same thing.
2:25:59 Wearing masks, social distancing,
2:26:04 at least six feet, and if you can’t, they say three,
2:26:07 but six is what’s recommended.
2:26:09 Enhanced cleaning measures, cleaning our rooms,
2:26:13 washing hands.
2:26:13 So yes, I think masks is a vital component
2:26:18 of preventing or slowing the spread.
2:26:21 So yes.
2:26:26 - Ms. Daskiewicz, did you want to speak
2:26:29 to any changes that you’re looking for?
2:26:32 - No. - Okay.
2:26:35 - The one thing I wanna ask is if you are leaning
2:26:37 towards the word mandatory,
2:26:39 I think we need to really consider what are the exceptions,
2:26:42 what are the discipline procedures
2:26:46 if someone refuses to wear one?
2:26:48 Do they need a doctor’s note?
2:26:49 Do they need a parent’s note?
2:26:53 Will that be when they are six feet apart also?
2:26:56 Will that be when they’re outside?
2:26:58 I think we have to clearly define if there’s ever a time
2:27:02 that it can come off, if it’s gonna be mandated.
2:27:13 - Ms. McDougall, you wanted to add something?
2:27:18 - I did wanna add something.
2:27:20 I think we have, I don’t think,
2:27:22 I believe that we have an amazing group
2:27:26 of assistant superintendents who it’s their job
2:27:31 to work for, okay, what are gonna be the exceptions?
2:27:34 You’re absolutely right, Ms. Daskiewicz.
2:27:36 There will be exceptions.
2:27:38 Think about our ESC students.
2:27:40 Think about our students that have some medical issues.
2:27:44 Think about our teachers who might have some medical issues,
2:27:48 but I believe that our cabinet
2:27:52 is well-equipped to deal with these.
2:27:56 - Thank you, Ms. McDougall.
2:28:00 - Ms. Spelford.
2:28:01 - Ms. Campbell.
2:28:02 - I didn’t know if you wanted just to limit it
2:28:03 to suggestions for modification
2:28:06 or is this just general discussion at this time?
2:28:09 - Totally up to you.
2:28:10 I was just gonna weigh in on my recommendation
2:28:12 for modification and then figured
2:28:13 we would open for discussion,
2:28:14 but if you wanna– - No, no, go ahead.
2:28:16 - Okay, so I don’t really care about semantics.
2:28:25 Like, I feel like we can get super hung up
2:28:27 on what the word is.
2:28:30 My main goal is results and what the outcomes are.
2:28:36 And admittedly, Dr. Mullins did a great video,
2:28:41 I think, explaining things.
2:28:43 And to your point, Mr. Susan,
2:28:44 I think you indicated that you had asked staff
2:28:46 to come back for a recommendation.
2:28:48 My recollection of that conversation was that
2:28:51 you asked for a recommendation from Dr. Mullins
2:28:54 and I said the staff has already made the recommendation
2:28:57 that it be expected.
2:28:59 So I apologize if I misinterpreted that.
2:29:04 Here’s my issue.
2:29:09 I feel like if we all agree,
2:29:11 and I think we do agree,
2:29:12 that schools are important for our kids and our families
2:29:16 for a lot of different reasons.
2:29:19 If we truly believe that,
2:29:20 then I feel like we need to do whatever we can
2:29:23 to minimize the likelihood
2:29:24 of having to close our schools again.
2:29:27 Because I think our students,
2:29:29 they need that continuity, they need that consistency,
2:29:32 and they need to be back in our schools.
2:29:39 I was really on the fence as to where to go on this
2:29:44 until a couple of things.
2:29:47 One, it seems very clear to me,
2:29:49 based on the emails that I’ve been getting
2:29:51 since our last meeting,
2:29:52 that many of the people in our public
2:29:57 are interpreting expected to mean optional.
2:30:03 Because I have gotten a ton of emails that say,
2:30:05 “Please leave the language like it is.
2:30:08 I want to send my kids back to brick and mortar school
2:30:10 and I don’t want them to have to wear a mask.”
2:30:12 And there’s a whole range of reasons
2:30:14 why people don’t want their children
2:30:17 to have to wear a mask at school.
2:30:22 And I think that we do have to make some exceptions,
2:30:26 but my concern is the mentality
2:30:31 that I’m seeing from our public
2:30:32 that that seems to be more their interpretation
2:30:37 is optional as opposed to expected.
2:30:41 And that’s concerning to me.
2:30:43 The other thing that concerns me
2:30:44 is I have visited a couple of schools
2:30:48 during our summer program.
2:30:56 I’m seeing that the interpretation of expected
2:30:59 is optional as well.
2:31:01 And that’s really concerning to me
2:31:03 because I do want our kids back in school
2:31:06 and I want them to be back with their friends
2:31:08 and back with their teachers.
2:31:09 And I fear, especially as we get into metrics,
2:31:15 I’ll go into this more,
2:31:16 but we are not opening our schools under optimum conditions.
2:31:23 And as much as our representatives
2:31:26 from the Department of Health
2:31:27 talked about the fact that we’re doing good in Brevard,
2:31:30 we are doing good in Brevard
2:31:31 compared to our surrounding counties.
2:31:34 But if you look at other countries
2:31:37 that have reopened their schools successfully
2:31:39 without creating a spike,
2:31:41 without having to close their schools back down,
2:31:43 they have all done so at much, much lower levels
2:31:47 than we’re currently facing in Brevard County.
2:31:49 And they have all indicated that in order for,
2:31:53 in fact, this morning, ironically,
2:31:55 as I was driving into our meeting today,
2:31:58 I was listening to the radio
2:32:00 and the US Surgeon General came on the radio with an ad
2:32:05 and said, he was talking about the importance
2:32:08 of wearing masks and social distancing
2:32:09 and all these different things.
2:32:11 And he specifically said,
2:32:12 if we want to get back to school,
2:32:16 if we want to get parents back to work,
2:32:18 if we want our economy to continue to grow,
2:32:20 it is critically important that the community
2:32:24 works to get our transmission level as low as possible.
2:32:31 I suspect because they’re aware of this information
2:32:35 of what’s going on in other countries.
2:32:37 And just to give you,
2:32:37 I know I sent you guys some information last night,
2:32:40 but just to give you a perspective,
2:32:42 Mr. Susan, you had talked earlier
2:32:43 when the Department of Health was here
2:32:45 about our, the numbers per population.
2:32:54 We currently in Brevard County
2:32:57 for a seven day rolling average
2:32:59 are at 17.6 cases per 100,000 population.
2:33:07 I shared with you all some of the research from Harvard,
2:33:11 where they gave some recommendations for reopening safely.
2:33:18 And like I said, I don’t mean to go deep on these metrics,
2:33:21 but I think it plays in,
2:33:23 I think they’re interrelated,
2:33:24 I guess is the best way to say it.
2:33:26 So if you look at countries that have reopened safely,
2:33:33 all of the ones that they talk about,
2:33:35 Denmark, Norway, that have reopened without issue,
2:33:38 have done so when they had less than 10 deaths
2:33:43 per 100,000 people.
2:33:47 In fact, I finally came across the statistics
2:33:53 specifically, to give you perspective,
2:33:55 Norway had 0.49 spread rate at their reopening,
2:33:59 and we heard today ours is 0.93.
2:34:02 They had a total of 8,106 cases
2:34:05 and only 224 deaths out of 5.4 million people.
2:34:09 And we’re almost reaching their numbers here in Brevard
2:34:12 with regard to number of cases.
2:34:17 We’re getting pretty close.
2:34:22 If you look at the specifics,
2:34:26 and I sent this in the document to you all
2:34:28 from the University of Nebraska Medical Center
2:34:31 College of Public Health,
2:34:33 a review of school openings in multiple countries
2:34:35 has identified a clear pattern.
2:34:36 All have waited until community transmission
2:34:38 was below 10 cases per million people per day,
2:34:43 which would equate to about one case per day per 100,000.
2:34:48 And we’re at 17.
2:34:50 So not to say that we’re doing horribly in Brevard County,
2:34:53 but we certainly are not at the level
2:34:56 where other countries have safely opened.
2:34:57 And I feel like that makes it even that much more important
2:35:02 that we do as much as we can to ensure
2:35:05 that our students are returning as safely as possible.
2:35:09 And this is only one element.
2:35:10 You know, we heard from Department of Health,
2:35:12 masks, social distancing, small groups, all of that.
2:35:16 And I think it’s all incredibly important,
2:35:18 but since we’re talking masks right now,
2:35:20 I’ll focus just on that.
2:35:22 But I do think it is key to us being able
2:35:26 to get back into our schools
2:35:27 and to keep our schools open safely.
2:35:29 And I’m concerned that expected
2:35:31 is not turning out the results
2:35:33 that we had hoped that it would.
2:35:36 I absolutely support mandated or required with exceptions,
2:35:42 because I do think there are going to have to be exceptions
2:35:46 in some instances, and I don’t know if you guys
2:35:51 wanna have strong discussion on that,
2:35:53 but that would be my recommendation
2:35:54 is either mandated or required with exceptions
2:35:59 that we can discuss.
2:36:00 So Ms. Campbell, you wanna go ahead and weigh in now?
2:36:03 - Sure.
2:36:07 I honestly share your same concerns
2:36:09 about the public perception of the wording
2:36:12 the way we have it right now.
2:36:13 And I was very pleased with Dr. Mullen’s video that he made
2:36:17 shortly after our last meeting,
2:36:19 or I guess right before our last meeting,
2:36:22 where it said, where he said,
2:36:24 “Families, get your heads a mask, have it.”
2:36:28 So I just wanna clarify and go on record as saying,
2:36:33 one, I think masks are going to make a difference.
2:36:37 And over the last eight days,
2:36:40 it hasn’t been since our last meeting, as I predicted,
2:36:43 we were getting more of a balanced input from our community
2:36:47 of the people who have said,
2:36:49 “Leave the language as it is,”
2:36:51 from all categories of people, teachers, parents,
2:36:53 community members, and then across the spectrum.
2:36:59 But I just wanna go on record as saying,
2:37:00 “Look, parents, I say the same thing.
2:37:02 “Get your kid a mask.
2:37:06 “Have them start practicing.”
2:37:07 Because even if we leave the language as it is,
2:37:09 as expected, I’ll tell you what I tell my own kids.
2:37:15 We do it, if for no other reason, out of kindness,
2:37:18 because there are people who are afraid all around us,
2:37:20 and they don’t know where we came from,
2:37:21 and they don’t know our hygiene practices
2:37:23 and where we’ve been, and so we do out of kindness.
2:37:26 For me, the biggest difference in the language as it is,
2:37:32 and the word mandate, is just how we come about it.
2:37:35 I don’t wanna see different results necessarily.
2:37:38 Even if we leave it as expected,
2:37:40 I think that our staff needs to make some exceptions.
2:37:42 We need to have some, we need to allow
2:37:46 for the people who have the,
2:37:48 one of our constituents sent us,
2:37:51 I think it was this morning, a list, an article
2:37:54 to doctors saying, “Here, physicians,
2:37:57 “you need to be ready for these people
2:37:58 “to come and ask for exceptions,
2:37:59 “and here’s the ones where you need to allow it,
2:38:01 “and here’s the ones where maybe not so much.”
2:38:04 So that was a very helpful article, by the way.
2:38:08 But I think we need to have those exceptions
2:38:11 even with the words expect.
2:38:13 But for me, it comes down to, like I said,
2:38:15 how we’re coming about it, and I’ll give you an example.
2:38:17 At a graduation last week, I saw a staff member
2:38:23 who was trying to communicate to graduates down the row,
2:38:25 trying to say something, and it was very clear
2:38:28 in that area, because of the noise and whatever,
2:38:31 they couldn’t be heard.
2:38:32 And so that employee did this, pulled the mask down,
2:38:34 and said it again, they could finally be heard.
2:38:36 Well, with the word, this is where I keep coming back,
2:38:39 I’m sorry to keep preaching the same sermon,
2:38:41 but with the word mandate, the teacher just set
2:38:44 a horrible example and broke the rule and can’t do that.
2:38:52 And the same thing with our kids.
2:38:53 And I have, if we get to the point,
2:38:57 if it’s a three to five, four to one, whatever vote it is,
2:39:02 do we use the word mandate?
2:39:03 I think our staff definitely need to work out some things.
2:39:05 I, for one, even with the word expect,
2:39:08 would love a mask break place where a kid,
2:39:12 just so they can raise their hand and say,
2:39:13 hey, can I go to the bathroom?
2:39:14 They can raise their hand and say,
2:39:15 hey, can I step out in the hall?
2:39:18 Even if, and people keep bringing up Disney World
2:39:20 and Universal and all that, and how kids can wear a mask
2:39:22 all day at those locations.
2:39:23 Well, one, they’re not expected to do heavy duty thinking
2:39:27 when they’re there.
2:39:28 But two, there are places at all of our parks
2:39:30 where you can go, and it’s like a mask-free zone.
2:39:33 You have to, you understood that when you’re there,
2:39:35 you’re supposed to social distance that people have masks on,
2:39:37 but they have little places
2:39:37 where people can go and have a break.
2:39:41 So I just, it’s a matter,
2:39:43 and we heard from several of the teachers
2:39:46 that I’ve heard from and said,
2:39:47 I just don’t want that kind of adversarial relationship,
2:39:50 especially this year, between me and my class.
2:39:55 If we use the word expect, and we can educate,
2:39:58 we can encourage, we can explain to students,
2:40:00 hey, we do this out of kindness and compassion,
2:40:03 not because you’re about to get in trouble
2:40:05 ‘cause you broke the rule.
2:40:07 So for me, and like I said, people disagree with that,
2:40:12 and I do hate that that perception is now,
2:40:15 and I’ll tell parents, honestly, look,
2:40:16 if you want your child who might not have a medical
2:40:21 or a psychological or whatever reason to not wear one,
2:40:24 if you want your child to go to school maskless,
2:40:27 then you probably need to consider another alternative,
2:40:30 because expect means expect.
2:40:34 You need to have one on.
2:40:36 And our principals and our teachers and everything,
2:40:39 except for the ones that we’re gonna make exception for
2:40:41 because of medical reasons, and those are legitimate.
2:40:43 And I’ll tell you where I come from that.
2:40:46 I, on that, I’ve clicked on every link that would open
2:40:51 without me having to pay for a subscription
2:40:53 to every article and a video,
2:40:55 and some of them are more science-based,
2:40:57 and some are more just a talking head
2:40:58 in their living room on a camera,
2:41:01 and listen to all the perspective.
2:41:02 And I’m trying to find, okay,
2:41:04 what are the things that would be dangerous
2:41:06 about wearing a mask?
2:41:07 There are some things, oh, you can get,
2:41:09 I can’t remember what the term is
2:41:09 when you breathe in too much carbon dioxide,
2:41:11 but then other things have debunked that,
2:41:12 because when you have a mask, there’s air holes all over,
2:41:15 and the ones that say you’re breathing your own bacteria,
2:41:18 the touching the face is consistent.
2:41:20 I have seen multiple studies and doctors recommending,
2:41:24 and even our epidemiologist that you had a conversation with
2:41:28 on Friday, the video, she talked about ages nine and under
2:41:32 touching their face all the time.
2:41:35 But really, that’s the only negative drawback
2:41:38 for having it on, besides it being uncomfortable,
2:41:40 and it can be overwhelming.
2:41:42 That’s why I think we need to have mask breaks.
2:41:44 But I just feel like how we’re gonna come about it
2:41:47 is just better, is more consistent with our overall,
2:41:50 the behavior and discipline plans that we’ve talked about,
2:41:53 if we leave the word expect rather than mandate.
2:41:55 But I will just tell parents who are listening,
2:41:58 I will tell you, even though I want the word to say expect,
2:42:01 get your kid a mask.
2:42:02 I’ve bought multiple kinds, my kids are making fun of me
2:42:04 because of how many different kinds of masks
2:42:06 I bought at this point, but I’m like,
2:42:07 if you’re gonna wear it every day,
2:42:08 you need one that you’re gonna not mess with.
2:42:10 So, you know, make one, sew one, buy one,
2:42:13 or we’ll have them for you if you can’t, if you forget.
2:42:15 But that is the expectation.
2:42:19 - Thank you, Ms. Campbell.
2:42:20 And for the record, I agree with you
2:42:22 that there needs to be mask breaks built into our day,
2:42:26 and kids need to have the opportunity to tap out
2:42:29 and take a little breather when they need to.
2:42:33 And I wouldn’t suggest that a teacher
2:42:34 pulling down their mask to be able to get the attention
2:42:39 is violating the expectation just because they’ve done that.
2:42:45 But I do think that, you know,
2:42:49 I guess I have faith that our team can do this
2:42:51 with compassion and caring
2:42:53 and in a developmentally appropriate way,
2:43:00 and still have those great relationships with their kids.
2:43:03 I’m not in any way, shape, or form suggesting
2:43:06 that we are, you know, suspending kids
2:43:09 for, you know, pulling their masks down
2:43:11 while they’re in class.
2:43:12 But I think loving encouragement and explanation
2:43:14 as to why we do it, giving them those times during the day
2:43:19 that they can potentially have those breaks outdoors
2:43:22 six feet apart from each other, you know,
2:43:23 when they can get their mask off for a little while.
2:43:28 I just feel like where we’re at now
2:43:29 is not producing the result that is going to help us
2:43:32 to stay safe in schools.
2:43:34 So, absolutely, I think we’re on the same page
2:43:38 with just the difference in semantics.
2:43:41 So, Ms. Deskovich, did you want to weigh in on?
2:43:51 - Yeah, I think we’re a lot of the same,
2:43:54 it’s like we’re so close, but so far.
2:43:57 We’re a lot of the same thoughts.
2:43:59 Ms. Campbell had some great comments, great input.
2:44:03 And of course, you know, I agree with much of what you said.
2:44:06 And it’s not our job to go against every recommendation
2:44:10 of every health official out there,
2:44:11 except I can’t let go of the Children’s Hospital
2:44:18 of Southwest Florida and their comments
2:44:20 about children under nine and the epidemiologists
2:44:24 that you interviewed, that we watched the video of,
2:44:26 and her comments.
2:44:28 I refer back to even her interview because she said,
2:44:33 as a mom, no, my kids can’t wear it for six hours,
2:44:37 but as an epidemiologist, they must wear it for six hours.
2:44:40 And I think that to me says everything
2:44:45 because we’re in the business of educating children,
2:44:50 not adults, our health department had a lot of information,
2:44:54 but it seems like they were focused on community numbers
2:44:57 as a whole, and we focus on children here
2:45:01 and our adult employees.
2:45:03 But you know, we have 70,000 children, 9,000 employees.
2:45:06 So we have to figure out something that works.
2:45:15 - So it sounds to me like you would like for there
2:45:17 to be an exception for children under 10
2:45:20 or a different expectation?
2:45:22 Is that where you’re going with that?
2:45:26 - I have lots of ideas, but I don’t wanna waste our time
2:45:29 if three aren’t interested in discussing this any further.
2:45:33 So I think we need to more hear from the three
2:45:38 that definitely wanna change it
2:45:39 to what you wanna change it to.
2:45:41 - So I’ll tell you, I went and pulled,
2:45:44 I was looking at the school reopening plans this morning
2:45:46 just to see, I’ve talked with a lot of school board members
2:45:49 around the state throughout this week
2:45:52 about their reopening plans
2:45:53 and how they’re meeting CDC recommendations
2:45:55 and that sort of thing.
2:45:58 And for our public, they probably have heard
2:46:02 that Miami Dade released their calendar
2:46:05 where they are going back full-time online
2:46:10 to start their school year on August 31st
2:46:12 and not going back to brick and mortar
2:46:15 until an evaluation of their criteria
2:46:18 into I think September, October.
2:46:23 Duval County has also their board approved
2:46:28 a plan that is not in line with the emergency order,
2:46:33 but it has not been approved by the DOE.
2:46:36 So anyway, I was looking to see who had been approved
2:46:39 and what their plans look like and that sort of thing.
2:46:41 And Clay County has in their reopening plan,
2:46:47 they didn’t use the regular templates
2:46:49 that was provided by the state.
2:46:51 And so it says the use of face coverings
2:46:55 while objectionable to some has been strongly recommended
2:46:58 by the Department of Health as a primary means
2:47:00 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
2:47:02 This mandate reflects that stance.
2:47:06 However, there are exceptions to the requirement
2:47:08 of using a face covering.
2:47:10 It’s important to look at the exception list
2:47:11 before judging the following mandate.
2:47:13 The mandate is as follows.
2:47:16 Subject to the exceptions listed in Appendix A,
2:47:19 all individuals, including all students, employees,
2:47:21 parents, visitors, and vendors must wear a face covering
2:47:23 which covers both the nose and mouth at all times
2:47:26 while at, on, or inside of any building, facility,
2:47:30 school, school grounds, or vehicle owned,
2:47:32 leased or operated by School Board of Clay County.
2:47:36 Face covering shall be either commercially produced
2:47:38 surgical mask or commercially produced
2:47:40 or homemade cloth face coverings that fit snugly.
2:47:44 And a limited supply will be maintained
2:47:46 by the district for student use.
2:47:49 And then they have their Appendix A
2:47:50 and they list those exceptions.
2:47:55 And the reason that I bring this up
2:47:56 is what they did, Ms. Duskovich,
2:47:59 is for students in Pre-K through grade two,
2:48:02 they said it is strongly recommended
2:48:04 that students in these grade levels wear a face covering
2:48:06 but it is not required.
2:48:07 Social distancing shall be maintained.
2:48:11 And so maybe that’s a way to address,
2:48:14 you know, I don’t think it needs to be a free for all,
2:48:17 but maybe we give some flexibility to our younger kids.
2:48:22 So just a recommendation for us to get to,
2:48:26 you know, someplace that we’re all comfortable with.
2:48:31 Mr. Susan, did you want to weigh in on where we’re at?
2:48:37 Where you think we need to go?
2:48:38 There’s been a recommendation for an exception
2:48:40 for younger students.
2:48:41 - Yeah, I totally agree that there needs to be that.
2:48:44 I really think that, like when I dove
2:48:47 into the Department of Defense’s plan
2:48:49 and how they deal with the mitigation factors,
2:48:53 they allow it, what their process is,
2:48:55 is that they have a couple of qualifying factors.
2:48:58 They allow those individuals’ parents
2:49:00 or the principal to set based upon those.
2:49:03 And then what they do is,
2:49:04 is they then send that to the appropriate,
2:49:06 which would be our cabinet member,
2:49:08 for review and, you know, and to agree to it.
2:49:12 And I think that we as individuals couldn’t even fathom
2:49:17 how many of these little variances they’re gonna be
2:49:20 between self-contained ESE programs,
2:49:22 between pre-K, and there’s other factors also.
2:49:25 So like in the pre-K classrooms, where you’re right,
2:49:28 the kids may not be able to maintain their masks on them,
2:49:32 we need to be able to deploy dividers to those schools.
2:49:35 We need to create an environment that if in the idea
2:49:38 that the masks are not the most attainable way to do it,
2:49:42 that we have the other ways to do it.
2:49:43 And the reason for that is,
2:49:45 is that I bring it back to the fact
2:49:48 that if we start closing down schools based upon spread,
2:49:51 that we could have controlled by doing these factors,
2:49:54 it behooves us to do it.
2:49:56 So in looking at the Department of Defense,
2:49:58 it’s more of a system of classifications
2:50:00 that create the exception,
2:50:04 and then those are applied to through the principal
2:50:07 and through a process of approval.
2:50:10 And I’m okay with that.
2:50:11 Like I’m not, there are a lot of,
2:50:13 I had some teachers and some individuals
2:50:15 make some very good points
2:50:16 as to why they couldn’t wear a mask.
2:50:19 Doctor’s notes, that kind of stuff, those are all in there.
2:50:22 And that’s why, and I apologize,
2:50:23 I thought the district was gonna come forward
2:50:26 with some kind of a recommendation from their end
2:50:28 of how that would look.
2:50:29 But if I was going the other way,
2:50:31 that’s exactly how I would do it.
2:50:32 Because you’re right, when I looked at the graduations,
2:50:37 when I looked at the classrooms that I was seeing,
2:50:41 when I looked at and talked to the teachers
2:50:42 that are teaching summer school,
2:50:46 what we were trying to do by saying it,
2:50:49 that we wanted it one way was not working.
2:50:52 And we’ve already had outbreaks
2:50:54 in almost every one of those sectors.
2:50:56 So saying that we come back with the same plan
2:50:58 that may already not be working to impact our economy
2:51:01 in a negative way along with our workforce,
2:51:03 our businesses and everything else,
2:51:05 I think it’s our number one goal,
2:51:06 is to sit back and try to get back to an area
2:51:08 that we can successfully get rid of all of this.
2:51:11 And that would be a path for it.
2:51:13 So I would say exceptions based upon a list
2:51:16 of classifications that come from the district
2:51:19 through doctor’s notes, stuff like that,
2:51:22 and then it has to be approved all the way to the top.
2:51:25 - Hey, Mr. Susan, I wanna, Ms. Morris,
2:51:28 I don’t know, she didn’t perk up,
2:51:30 so I don’t know if she was painting it,
2:51:31 but be careful with the word outbreak.
2:51:32 We haven’t had outbreak in any of those areas.
2:51:34 We have had cases reported
2:51:36 that we’ve had to take precautionary measures,
2:51:39 but not an outbreak.
2:51:41 So just be careful, ‘cause it makes a difference.
2:51:43 - I guess my point was is that we’ve had to take measures
2:51:48 based upon the fact that the current status that we have
2:51:52 was not being followed.
2:51:56 - Ms. McDougall, you indicated you wanted to reply.
2:52:01 - I don’t know if I did,
2:52:02 but I certainly can always throw in my five cents.
2:52:05 But I haven’t changed my mind.
2:52:10 Everything, every medical person out there
2:52:15 is saying that masks will help.
2:52:18 Exceptions, absolutely.
2:52:20 I don’t think, like I said before,
2:52:22 things are not black and white.
2:52:24 They’re always going to be shades of gray.
2:52:26 And I really feel that as we heard,
2:52:31 as you mentioned, Ms. Belford,
2:52:34 that some of the emails I got,
2:52:36 people were having the impression that absolutely not.
2:52:39 I’m not wearing a mask, no mask, don’t change the words.
2:52:42 So they interpreted expected as I don’t have to.
2:52:46 So I really feel we need the stronger language.
2:52:49 So that’s kind of where I stand.
2:52:51 - Thank you, Ms. McDougall.
2:52:56 So if I may make a recommendation
2:53:01 that would maybe meet the needs
2:53:02 of what has come forward so far is a,
2:53:07 and keep in mind, board members,
2:53:08 we can’t vote because we’re in a work session.
2:53:10 So whatever we decide,
2:53:11 we’ll have to bring back later for an official vote.
2:53:13 But if I may recommend that,
2:53:21 we bring back a vote mandating or requiring.
2:53:29 I’m truly fine with either one with exceptions.
2:53:34 I did in the document that I sent to you guys last night,
2:53:36 I sent you some information from the ADA,
2:53:38 which outlines some clear things
2:53:42 that we must provide exceptions for.
2:53:48 But they also have to be documented through the ADA.
2:53:53 But the other thing that I would recommend
2:53:55 is just because I think we need to do as much as we can.
2:54:01 And we heard from the Department of Health
2:54:03 that any mask is better than no mask.
2:54:07 Anything is better than nothing.
2:54:09 So in that ADA document,
2:54:10 they talk about reasonable accommodations.
2:54:12 And one of those reasonable accommodations
2:54:16 is to allow a person to wear a scarf, a loose face covering,
2:54:19 or a full face shield.
2:54:20 And so I would like for us to recommend
2:54:25 that those things be considered, if possible,
2:54:29 in lieu of a mask for those areas
2:54:31 where we’re going to make an exception.
2:54:33 And if it’s not feasible, obviously,
2:54:38 there are going to be some instances
2:54:40 where people just cannot wear a mask,
2:54:42 or a face shield or loose face covering any of those things.
2:54:45 But I think the more options that we can put in there
2:54:49 for those scenarios, it increases our chances.
2:54:52 And then I actually am supportive
2:54:57 of what Ms. Duskovich brought forward
2:55:00 with regard to the younger kids.
2:55:02 I think it’s more difficult with them.
2:55:05 And I think a lot of them can do it.
2:55:08 And a lot of them are probably going to struggle with it.
2:55:11 So I would like to recommend
2:55:13 that we incorporate strongly recommending
2:55:15 for pre-K to two, but not,
2:55:19 but excusing them from the full mandate
2:55:21 just to ensure that our classes can progress.
2:55:30 And our teachers aren’t spending
2:55:31 a whole lot of time fighting,
2:55:33 and we don’t have students touching their face all the time
2:55:36 and spreading germs.
2:55:37 So that would be my recommendation
2:55:41 for us to consider later this evening.
2:55:44 - Mr. Susan.
2:55:45 - Can you define what classification you just put
2:55:50 so that if a pre-K teacher is in the high risk class
2:55:53 and wants to make sure that all those kids are wearing it
2:55:58 and just trying to do it,
2:55:59 that they have some sort of teeth or can you explain that?
2:56:02 Like explain it for the high risk pre-K
2:56:04 through two teacher that is worried, that’s what.
2:56:08 - Yeah, so for that teacher,
2:56:10 I think we need to do our best to secure those N95 masks
2:56:15 for the teachers who need them.
2:56:17 I don’t know that it’s going to be possible
2:56:18 for us to get those in,
2:56:19 ‘cause I know there’s still some supply issues,
2:56:22 but I think we need to at least try.
2:56:25 And I would hope that
2:56:29 if the teacher reached out to the parents and said,
2:56:32 I have some real concerns and need to make sure
2:56:34 that I’m as protected as possible,
2:56:37 can we please do our best to either face mask
2:56:40 or face shield on those students?
2:56:43 I would think that there would be some accommodations there
2:56:46 that would limit her exposure.
2:56:47 That would be my thought.
2:56:57 So are you good with the recommendation?
2:56:59 - Yeah, it’s the same thing that the school districts
2:57:02 on the West Coast, some of them have done the same thing.
2:57:04 It’s consistent with a lot of the other school districts.
2:57:06 I just wanted that to be known for the people
2:57:09 that are out there that are on that fence
2:57:11 that are sitting there looking,
2:57:12 because it’s the other thing is,
2:57:13 is that a lot of them will come back
2:57:15 because they have these protections
2:57:17 and we just want to make sure that that’s there.
2:57:19 - Right.
2:57:20 Ms. McDougall, are you comfortable with that?
2:57:24 - Yes, I’m comfortable with that, yes.
2:57:26 - Ms. Duska, are you comfortable with that?
2:57:29 - I still have questions about like discipline
2:57:33 for staff and for students, what that looks like.
2:57:37 - Thank you for bringing that up.
2:57:39 Did you want to make a recommendation or did you want to?
2:57:43 - I would like to hear from the three
2:57:47 that want the stronger language.
2:57:49 Like if we move it from,
2:57:51 the reason for expected in my mind
2:57:53 was that you will wear a mask,
2:57:54 but we weren’t going to have any discipline assigned to it.
2:57:59 And the teachers could easily make the call on students
2:58:04 without having to meet specific criteria
2:58:06 or we weren’t going to require a doctor’s note
2:58:08 of that nature, that was the reason for expected.
2:58:10 So if you want to move to harsher language,
2:58:12 is it because you want discipline to employees
2:58:16 and discipline to students?
2:58:17 I’m curious on where the thought is there.
2:58:22 - So I’ll weigh in.
2:58:23 My thought is we treat it like a dress code violation
2:58:27 in that we encourage the student, we provide a mask,
2:58:30 we encourage them to wear the mask.
2:58:34 But I think we have to be real too
2:58:38 about for some families,
2:58:43 the best option might be our e-learning option.
2:58:46 If they just really feel like their child cannot wear a mask,
2:58:51 cannot do any of the reasonable accommodations
2:58:53 that are being offered,
2:58:54 then I think we have to look at that.
2:58:57 My fear is otherwise we’re going to have
2:59:00 what we currently have,
2:59:02 which is a whole lot of non-compliance
2:59:04 is what I saw in our schools.
2:59:07 And then we’re going to end up shutting down schools again.
2:59:10 So I definitely don’t want students suspended.
2:59:13 I don’t want, you know, I don’t think we need to go there,
2:59:15 but I think we do need to,
2:59:19 we need to treat it like we would address code violation
2:59:21 in our schools and address it.
2:59:24 - Would you recommend, I’m sorry.
2:59:26 - No, go ahead.
2:59:27 - Would you recommend then first,
2:59:28 because we’re circling back to staff,
2:59:30 that for a staff member who has that difficulty that,
2:59:33 you know, I know the studies show that the face shields
2:59:36 aren’t as effective as a face covering
2:59:40 because there’s all that space right to the sides,
2:59:42 but for our faculty that have, you know,
2:59:45 need the exceptions that we can say, you know,
2:59:49 a face covering of some, I mean, not of some kind,
2:59:52 ‘cause we have, there has to be some definitions.
2:59:53 There’s, you know, our security team has said
2:59:55 it can only cover, you know, this part of your face,
2:59:57 but that we have, that there’s alternatives allowed
3:00:00 for those staff members who, you know,
3:00:02 so a face shield would be good enough.
3:00:08 - I think that fits in with the reasonable accommodations.
3:00:10 I mean, I do think it needs to be,
3:00:15 I think it needs to be checked, right?
3:00:17 Like it needs to be not just, I don’t feel like it.
3:00:20 There needs to be a legitimate reason.
3:00:24 And then if there truly is a legitimate reason
3:00:27 for them not wearing one, then yeah,
3:00:29 I would say a face shield or a face shield
3:00:33 and maybe a scarf, if that was more, you know, comfortable.
3:00:38 - I think it would be important just because
3:00:40 this document isn’t, just for us to,
3:00:41 some of the exceptions, the ADA exceptions,
3:00:43 if you don’t mind me just listing off,
3:00:44 ‘cause some of these are really very,
3:00:46 some of them are obvious and some of them maybe not so much,
3:00:48 but it talks about a person who has trouble breathing,
3:00:50 obviously is unconscious or incapacitated.
3:00:52 I’m not sure why that one’s in there,
3:00:54 but someone who is otherwise able
3:00:57 or otherwise able to remove the face mask
3:00:59 without assistance.
3:01:00 We do have students who do not have the mobility.
3:01:04 And so it’s recommended for them to not,
3:01:06 if you can’t take it off yourself
3:01:08 for safety reasons, obviously there.
3:01:11 Asthma, COPD, respiratory disabilities, PTSD,
3:01:15 severe anxiety, claustrophobia, autism, cerebral palsy,
3:01:19 someone who uses mouth control devices.
3:01:21 I don’t know if we have any students in the district
3:01:22 who use those, we do, wheelchairs and things like that.
3:01:27 So just those kind of things,
3:01:29 just so people are aware of those exceptions
3:01:32 that the ADA is listing as where we made it,
3:01:35 see if we can find them another alternative.
3:01:37 - Right.
3:01:40 - And I wanted to say,
3:01:41 there’s a couple of innovative teachers
3:01:43 that have grabbed those face masks
3:01:46 and they’ve put a system together
3:01:50 that acts just like a mask, but with the face shield.
3:01:52 So instead of having it on their face,
3:01:54 it attaches to the bottom and to the neck
3:01:57 so that it’s possible.
3:01:57 So there’s some things that people can do creatively
3:02:00 to achieve the same goal.
3:02:07 - So did that answer your questions, Ms. Duskin?
3:02:09 - A little bit, I’m just curious.
3:02:11 So with dress code,
3:02:13 let’s just say we had a child that absolutely refused,
3:02:17 I don’t know, one of our schools,
3:02:19 I know we can’t have a different color hair.
3:02:21 So they wanted purple hair and they refused.
3:02:25 What do we, do we ask them to leave school?
3:02:29 Can we legally not give them,
3:02:31 I guess ‘cause we’re giving them an online option,
3:02:33 we’re still providing a free public education.
3:02:36 So Mr. Gibbs, that’s, we have no issues there, right?
3:02:42 - Yeah, I would not be concerned with the e-learning
3:02:45 right now ‘cause it is a health safety welfare issue as well.
3:02:49 Just something to keep in mind.
3:02:52 You’re talking amending the student code of conduct.
3:02:55 You’re talking rulemaking as well.
3:02:57 So you can recommend the changes today
3:03:00 at tonight’s board meeting,
3:03:02 but you’re gonna, at the next board meeting,
3:03:03 we’ll have to bring forth an emergency rule
3:03:06 to put in place requiring this with students
3:03:09 while we undertake actual rulemaking
3:03:11 to get it put in place for longer than 90 days.
3:03:15 - That’s my next question.
3:03:17 I don’t think the health department
3:03:18 was too terribly helpful in letting us know
3:03:20 when we can stop wearing masks,
3:03:21 but do we want a reevaluation period of our own?
3:03:27 Or do we want to just leave it open-ended?
3:03:29 Is this the new norm for our students forever?
3:03:33 Like what does that look like for us?
3:03:34 - We can talk about that with our whole entire reopening plan.
3:03:37 I mean, how long are we gonna have to sit in the cafeteria
3:03:39 with the tables all facing the same way?
3:03:43 - Yeah, well, I mean, this meeting was about,
3:03:44 not just about masks, but about metrics.
3:03:46 And so it’s the same, it’s on the same question.
3:03:51 - So Mr. Gibbs, why were we able to approve
3:03:55 the reopening plan with expected wearing of masks,
3:03:59 but if we move to…
3:04:01 - With expected, there wasn’t any, as Ms. Campbell said,
3:04:04 disciplinary measures.
3:04:06 I mean, you weren’t talking about,
3:04:07 hey, if you don’t wear your mask,
3:04:08 you’re getting moved to a different placement.
3:04:12 Now you’re talking about moving students
3:04:15 from brick and mortar to e-learning
3:04:18 because they won’t comply for whatever reason.
3:04:19 Maybe the parents come up there and say,
3:04:21 hey, I gave you a mask, you need to be wearing your mask.
3:04:23 As soon as they leave, the kid takes it back on.
3:04:25 I mean, there’s nothing anybody’s gonna be able to do
3:04:27 to prevent that.
3:04:29 And I’ve reached out to other districts
3:04:30 and they’re all saying,
3:04:31 yeah, we’re moving them to e-learning
3:04:33 until they decide to comply.
3:04:35 It’s in their control.
3:04:36 If they wanna be back in the school,
3:04:39 they just put the mask on.
3:04:41 - And the reason that you were saying the emergency
3:04:43 is because we don’t have enough board meetings.
3:04:45 - We can’t get rulemaking done in the short time
3:04:48 before school starts.
3:04:49 So you wouldn’t have it in place for the start
3:04:51 of the school year.
3:04:52 - Unless we just had more meetings.
3:04:53 - No, you have to take the time to do an actual rule.
3:04:58 So an emergency rule is only good for 90 days.
3:05:01 So you do the emergency rule at your next board meeting
3:05:05 to get you to the start of school
3:05:07 and to cover the time while we undertake actual rulemaking
3:05:11 for the pandemic.
3:05:12 I mean, it would be a pandemic rule
3:05:13 as long as we’re under the COVID emergency,
3:05:16 students are expected to wear
3:05:18 or are required to wear a mask.
3:05:20 And if they don’t, you know,
3:05:21 you’d lay out what the consequences would be.
3:05:23 Re-education’s first tier and, you know,
3:05:26 contact with parents with re-education.
3:05:28 And then if the final tier for the board is
3:05:30 we’re gonna remove you to e-learning,
3:05:33 that’d be the final thing.
3:05:34 And then it wouldn’t be necessarily disciplinary.
3:05:36 It’s not gonna go on their transcripts.
3:05:38 It’s just gonna be,
3:05:39 we’re educating you through the e-learning classroom.
3:05:41 - So does it lift if it’s an emergency order from us?
3:05:46 Does it lift as soon as the state emergency order is lifted?
3:05:49 - That would be up to the board
3:05:50 to input in the parameters.
3:05:52 I mean, if you want it classified as an emergency,
3:05:55 you know, infectious disease emergency period,
3:05:59 as long as that’s there.
3:06:00 I mean, I expect this to go be in place probably
3:06:02 as you see like hurricane things for certain counties,
3:06:06 they’re still in place with the emergency order
3:06:08 so that they can continue to get FEMA aid.
3:06:10 I expect this will outlast,
3:06:12 the emergency order will long outlast the need for masks.
3:06:16 - Probably in the area.
3:06:17 So, I mean, we could be down to less than 1% infection
3:06:21 where the board says,
3:06:22 “Hey, I think we’re okay with lifting the requirement now,”
3:06:25 but there’s still technically an emergency order in place.
3:06:29 - Yeah, Ms. Belford,
3:06:31 one of the studies that you referenced
3:06:32 with the percent per 100,000,
3:06:37 when they went back,
3:06:38 it was like seven cases per 100,000.
3:06:42 What, I can’t remember your numbers.
3:06:43 Was that on the paper you handed us?
3:06:45 - Yeah, it was.
3:06:47 They were less than 10 per million,
3:06:52 which would be one per 100,000.
3:06:56 Or the only exception to that was Denmark.
3:06:59 And when they returned,
3:07:00 they were at 35.5 per million per day.
3:07:05 So that would basically be 3.5 new cases
3:07:10 per 100,000 per day.
3:07:13 And it was a trend, obviously.
3:07:16 - Did it say when they went back,
3:07:18 were they still social distancing with that low of numbers?
3:07:21 - Yes.
3:07:23 But it varies.
3:07:24 I mean, some of them,
3:07:26 just like you’ll see some variation
3:07:28 in what social distancing looks like in our schools
3:07:31 throughout the state.
3:07:32 So some of them,
3:07:36 some of them socially distanced outside,
3:07:41 but couldn’t socially distance inside.
3:07:45 And so inside they may wear masks.
3:07:47 Some of them didn’t wear masks.
3:07:48 Some of them, there were lots of variations there.
3:07:51 But they all had a consistently low transmission rate
3:07:54 when they returned.
3:07:55 - Yeah, I feel like a lot of the European countries
3:07:57 have done things completely different,
3:07:58 and there’s been success
3:08:00 in many different combinations thereof.
3:08:03 The other question I have is,
3:08:08 so let’s see, discipline, when will it end?
3:08:13 I don’t know, I gotta think about it for a second.
3:08:23 I guess I think that’s it.
3:08:25 So are we gonna bring it forward to a vote tonight?
3:08:28 Is that the plan?
3:08:30 - If we have consensus that we’re comfortable
3:08:32 with what we’ve come up with to bring it forward for a vote.
3:08:35 - Would the language then be similar to what we have now?
3:08:43 Masks would be mandated
3:08:44 when social distancing is not possible.
3:08:48 And the reason why I ask is if we do have a class
3:08:50 that only has, because of our e-learning numbers,
3:08:53 has four or five kids in it,
3:08:54 they can clearly get six feet apart.
3:08:56 Are we saying that they don’t have to have them?
3:08:59 Or are we just saying, you know,
3:09:02 are you waiting some more rec, yeah.
3:09:06 That’s part of those exceptions we’ve talked about.
3:09:08 Right now it says expected
3:09:10 when social distancing is not possible.
3:09:13 Would we say mandated or required
3:09:15 when social distancing is not possible
3:09:17 and leave that language as it is?
3:09:21 - So I think that’s, I mean,
3:09:25 I’m comfortable with leaving it where it is,
3:09:28 if they truly can socially distance.
3:09:31 Although we did hear from the health department
3:09:33 that, you know, anytime you’re out around someone else,
3:09:35 whether you’re socially distanced or not,
3:09:36 you should be wearing a mask.
3:09:37 So I mean, is there desire from the board
3:09:43 to mandate that masks are on at all times,
3:09:47 unless there’s exception?
3:09:49 - I mean, the American Pediatric Association letter says
3:09:53 when you can’t socially distance.
3:09:55 And those, again, are the experts with children.
3:09:57 I think we need to be mindful.
3:09:59 There’s medical experts
3:10:01 and there’s medical experts with children.
3:10:02 And we just need to keep that in mind
3:10:04 when we’re making decisions.
3:10:07 - I mean, either way you look at it,
3:10:09 our students are gonna be,
3:10:11 every day gonna be within a situation
3:10:13 where socially distancing is not possible.
3:10:16 I mean, something’s gonna happen.
3:10:19 So yeah, I mean, we can keep it the same way it is
3:10:22 or whatever, but it’s just gonna basically be
3:10:24 the exact same thing.
3:10:25 I mean, either way, you’re gonna have the same situations
3:10:27 unless kids transported by parents goes to a class
3:10:31 that, you know what I mean, it’s very minimal.
3:10:34 - So I would suggest that we go forward with the language
3:10:41 the way it is now, except changing to mandate,
3:10:44 you know, with the exceptions.
3:10:47 And if we get back in school and we find that, you know,
3:10:51 we’re having a bunch of cases,
3:10:52 we may have to get a little stricter with it
3:10:54 and revisit it.
3:10:56 But, you know, as of now, when they cannot social distance.
3:11:03 - So we didn’t really address an employee.
3:11:05 So a student with dress code,
3:11:07 we would ask them to e-learn if they just, you know,
3:11:09 refused, but an employee, what’s the recourse there
3:11:14 if we’ve got an employee that just refuses?
3:11:19 - What is our current practice with employees
3:11:21 who choose not to follow?
3:11:25 - We follow the collective bargaining agreements
3:11:27 and the process for discipline for employees.
3:11:30 - So do we have an employee dress code?
3:11:34 - We do not have a specific employee dress code
3:11:35 other than professional dress.
3:11:38 - So do we have employees who receive discipline
3:11:42 through the collective bargaining agreement
3:11:43 for inappropriate dresses at school?
3:11:47 - Mrs. Belford, I would have to go back through the files
3:11:49 and find some cases.
3:11:51 I suspect that principals regularly have conversations
3:11:54 when the case arises,
3:11:56 whether that comes to the level of discipline
3:11:58 through labor relations, I can’t tell you that.
3:12:01 - Is there anything in our collective bargaining agreement
3:12:02 that would keep us from holding an employee accountable
3:12:05 for not following our mask expectation, our mask mandate?
3:12:09 - No, I don’t believe so, but the other piece of it is ADA,
3:12:11 and you’ve mentioned ADA,
3:12:13 and that gives latitude for the employer
3:12:16 and the employee to open that interactive process with ADA
3:12:19 for accommodations for an employee who has a disability,
3:12:22 whether it is a visible one or not.
3:12:25 And there is a process that we go through with employees now
3:12:28 for other things, and we would do it in this case as well.
3:12:33 - Does that answer your question as Jessica?
3:12:35 - It does, I think I just wanna clarify one more thing.
3:12:38 Is this a, for students and employees,
3:12:41 is this a doctor’s note level exception,
3:12:44 or is this a parent’s note level exception,
3:12:46 or is this an employee,
3:12:49 I’ll reference from the last board meeting,
3:12:50 it is one individual, but she is a teacher in our district,
3:12:53 and she has been through a very abusive situation,
3:12:56 and I don’t know how she’s gonna come to terms with this.
3:12:58 So what is her recourse,
3:13:00 and if there’s other ones out there
3:13:01 that haven’t spoken to me,
3:13:02 what are their, what’s their recourse,
3:13:05 do they need to tell their principal,
3:13:07 or like, where do they go in this process?
3:13:09 - Regarding employees, I’ll speak to employees,
3:13:11 there is the ADA process,
3:13:13 where they will start to work through that
3:13:14 with their principal, it’s called an interactive process,
3:13:17 where they provide the documentation,
3:13:19 and it is evaluated, and a reasonable accommodation
3:13:22 is made for that employee,
3:13:23 provided that documentation is there.
3:13:25 So that is an official process,
3:13:27 we would have to have that process occur.
3:13:30 - You say ADA, is that American–
3:13:31 - Americans with Disabilities Act.
3:13:33 - Okay, so just her not having a doctor’s note for that,
3:13:36 but just her saying that’s been her position,
3:13:39 that qualifies her to go through the ADA process?
3:13:41 - She would need to go through the ADA process
3:13:43 to get that reasonable accommodation, to not wear a mask.
3:13:47 - Does she need a doctor’s note to go through the ADA process
3:13:50 is this like an IEP for children, like what,
3:13:52 I don’t understand.
3:13:53 - It is a federal process,
3:13:54 where she would have to have medical documentation,
3:13:58 that describes the need,
3:13:59 or whatever the accommodation might be.
3:14:02 - Thank you, Dr. Dutty.
3:14:06 I think that’s all my questions right now, thanks.
3:14:12 - And the other question I think was for students,
3:14:15 are we requiring a doctor’s note,
3:14:16 are we requiring parent notification?
3:14:20 Mr. Gibbs, is there a pattern that you’re seeing
3:14:24 in the other districts, and have there been any issues
3:14:27 that we need to be aware of with regard to that?
3:14:29 - Doctor’s note.
3:14:31 - That’s what I’m seeing around this state is doctor’s note.
3:14:33 I mean, otherwise you’re just gonna have all the parents
3:14:35 who are saying it’s optional, write a note saying,
3:14:37 “Nope, my kid’s got a condition.”
3:14:39 So they’re saying doctor’s note,
3:14:40 and they’re giving them the same,
3:14:42 we’re gonna educate your kid,
3:14:43 it’s not gonna be a disciplinary action,
3:14:44 you’re just gonna be e-learning.
3:14:48 - Are we good with that?
3:14:53 Ms. McDougall, are you good with that?
3:14:56 - Yeah, I would think a doctor’s note
3:14:57 would make sense, absolutely.
3:14:59 And we’re all, you know what, we’re a school.
3:15:01 We’re all about keeping children and staff safe,
3:15:06 as well as, primary goal, obviously, is education.
3:15:10 But when they’re in our building,
3:15:13 we’re working hard to keep our staff and our children safe,
3:15:17 and mandating a mask, and following ADA,
3:15:21 it all makes sense to me, so yes, I’m good.
3:15:27 - Mr. Susan, you good with where we are?
3:15:29 - Absolutely, it follows the same
3:15:30 as the Department of Defense’s recommendations
3:15:33 towards theirs, and some of our other school districts.
3:15:37 - Ms. Campbell, you good with where we are?
3:15:41 I know it’s not your preference,
3:15:42 but doing our best to come to something that we can all be.
3:15:45 - I appreciate us delineating the exceptions.
3:15:50 - And Ms. Duskovich?
3:15:53 - Well, I’m gonna process all this,
3:15:55 I think I have a couple hours ‘til we have to vote, so.
3:15:57 Thank you.
3:15:59 - Dr. Mullins.
3:16:01 - Thank you, Ms. Belford.
3:16:02 I just want to, I believe the direction of the board
3:16:05 is clear and understood, and I’m confident staff
3:16:09 can work with the information we’ve received
3:16:11 and put together in appropriate formal language,
3:16:14 and we’ll work with Mr. Gibbs
3:16:16 to get the appropriate approvals aligned for the emergency,
3:16:21 as well as moving forward, and we’ll take the direction
3:16:25 from the board, I’d like to take the opportunity
3:16:29 to just express my sincere appreciation of this board
3:16:32 for fully, personally, professionally engaging
3:16:36 in a very difficult topic, one that we have worked through
3:16:39 as staff as well, and continue to consider
3:16:44 what is in the interest of the district
3:16:46 and our students and so on, and our community,
3:16:50 if we think back of where we’ve been
3:16:51 over the last several weeks, it’s been an ongoing discussion
3:16:56 and lots of perspectives both ways,
3:16:59 and I continue to come back to two words,
3:17:03 that I believe if we uphold as a community,
3:17:06 as an organization, as a school system at the very least,
3:17:10 but even more so at large as a community,
3:17:14 when we are responsible and we’re reasonable,
3:17:19 responsible for our own health and well-being,
3:17:22 as well as the consideration
3:17:24 of others’ health and well-being,
3:17:27 but we’re also reasonable, we can do what’s right
3:17:31 for all of us and we can get through this as a community,
3:17:33 so thank you.
3:17:34 - Thank you.
3:17:37 Okay, that moves us into our discussion of metrics,
3:17:41 and I wanted to take just a minute to update you guys,
3:17:44 I know you have my notes on my communication outreach,
3:17:47 but a little more detail for you all,
3:17:51 as well as information for our community,
3:17:52 because I had brought it up last time,
3:17:55 and I think it’s important to understand
3:17:57 and keep top of mind as we’re discussing
3:18:01 that we are still under the emergency order
3:18:05 that was issued by the commissioner of education,
3:18:08 requiring us to go back to brick and mortar school
3:18:12 by August 31st,
3:18:14 and I had been trying to work through the language
3:18:19 in the emergency order that indicated,
3:18:22 basically unless the local health officials indicate
3:18:25 that it is not safe to do so.
3:18:27 I don’t know if any of you saw
3:18:28 the Scott Maxwell article yesterday in the Sentinel,
3:18:31 did any of you get a chance to read that?
3:18:34 He started trying to investigate that whole thing
3:18:37 with the health department,
3:18:40 and it was a comical article to read if you get a chance.
3:18:45 But the long and short of it is,
3:18:48 we have not been successful in getting,
3:18:52 identifying anyone in Florida
3:18:54 at the Florida health department
3:18:56 who is willing to give a recommendation
3:18:58 on one way or another on school opening.
3:19:00 But just to give you and the community
3:19:02 a little bit of a rundown,
3:19:05 I reached out to the Florida Department of Health,
3:19:08 and the first time I called, I just asked them,
3:19:11 I said, I’m a school board member in Brevard County, Florida,
3:19:15 here’s what our emergency order says,
3:19:16 I need to know who in the state department of health
3:19:19 can make a recommendation one way or another
3:19:21 on school openings.
3:19:22 And they sent me to someone in environmental health
3:19:26 who said, well, ma’am, if you have a concern about rodents,
3:19:30 I would be happy to shut down a school.
3:19:31 And I said, no, no, no, no, no,
3:19:33 you gotta understand I’m a school board member,
3:19:36 I’m looking for direction based on this emergency order.
3:19:38 He said, well, I only deal with, you know,
3:19:40 rodents and other health issues that would require
3:19:42 a school be shut down.
3:19:43 And he referred me over to school health services.
3:19:48 And mind you, I wanna clarify this is at the state level,
3:19:51 because our local folks, as we saw this morning,
3:19:53 have been amazing partners, but their hands too are tied.
3:19:56 And so they transferred me over to school health services
3:19:59 at the state level, and I left a message
3:20:01 and did not get any response.
3:20:03 And so I called back the next day and I said,
3:20:08 can I just speak to someone in the surgeon general’s office,
3:20:11 the Florida surgeon general?
3:20:13 And they put me through to an assistant
3:20:17 in the surgeon general’s office who was working from home.
3:20:20 And she said, I can’t give you any answers
3:20:25 and I can’t give you anyone to speak to there,
3:20:28 but you can send an email to the surgeon general himself.
3:20:31 And so I sent an email to the surgeon general
3:20:33 and I didn’t get any response from that either.
3:20:37 I reached out to the governor’s office.
3:20:41 I sent an email and I called,
3:20:43 and the way that their phone system works
3:20:44 is they put you into the queue
3:20:46 like you’re currently holding.
3:20:50 If you want to leave a message, press this,
3:20:52 and if you don’t, continue holding,
3:20:53 but it will only let you continue holding
3:20:55 through three of those cycles and then it hangs up on you.
3:20:59 It says, we’re going to disconnect you, leave a message.
3:21:02 So I left a voicemail and sent an email
3:21:05 to the governor’s office.
3:21:06 About a week later, I got a lady by the name of Lucy,
3:21:11 called me back, very nice.
3:21:13 And I explained to her who I was
3:21:16 and what I was trying to clarify.
3:21:18 And she said, I’m sorry,
3:21:20 but we cannot clarify the governor’s statements.
3:21:24 And I said, well, who can clarify the governor’s statements?
3:21:28 She said, well, you should send them an email.
3:21:30 And I said, well, I’ve already sent an email
3:21:31 and I haven’t gotten a response.
3:21:32 And she said, well, send an email again.
3:21:33 And I said, okay, so I’ve sent two emails
3:21:37 to the governor’s office for clarification
3:21:39 on some of the comments that he made
3:21:41 in the press conference, several press conferences now,
3:21:45 where some comments have been made,
3:21:46 but I haven’t gotten a response on that.
3:21:50 So when I wasn’t getting anywhere at the state level,
3:21:52 I reached out to the US Surgeon General, Jerome Adams.
3:21:58 He had done a piece, he had done an interview
3:22:02 and had talked about some things specific to schools.
3:22:04 And so I reached out to him via email as well
3:22:07 and asked some questions and I have not gotten a response.
3:22:11 And so then I called the CDC
3:22:13 because if anyone heard the call on Friday with the CDC,
3:22:19 they said repeatedly that they wanted to be available
3:22:22 to advise school districts if they had questions.
3:22:25 And so I thought, great, here’s a source.
3:22:27 I can finally get some information.
3:22:29 And I called the CDC and the only number I could call
3:22:33 was like the COVID hotline number
3:22:36 and spoke with a very, very nice gentleman.
3:22:40 But I’m pretty sure that I knew more about COVID
3:22:44 than he did.
3:22:45 He was just kind of regurgitating information
3:22:48 from the website and I kept trying to reiterate,
3:22:49 I’ve read the entire website.
3:22:51 I’m very, very familiar with this.
3:22:53 I need answers to questions which are not on the website.
3:22:56 And so he was supposed to have elevated my concern
3:22:59 and I have not yet gotten a call back from them either.
3:23:02 So here’s where we are today.
3:23:06 Our community, I think it’s important to understand
3:23:10 that we are still under the emergency order
3:23:11 regardless of anything the governor has said
3:23:13 in a press conference.
3:23:14 There has been no amendment to the emergency order.
3:23:18 If you saw the governor’s round table from yesterday,
3:23:21 he and the commissioner were both there
3:23:23 and they made it very clear that there is an expectation
3:23:25 that schools return by August 31st.
3:23:30 Miami Dade has come out and said
3:23:32 that they are not going back,
3:23:33 but I would remind people that they are still in phase one.
3:23:37 And so they may get a plan approved
3:23:39 that doesn’t require them to go back brick and mortar
3:23:43 by August 31st and Broward and Palm Beach,
3:23:46 neither have approved plans on the DOE website.
3:23:50 The only one of our districts that,
3:23:52 well, there’s two kinds of exceptions to the marching orders
3:23:56 and that is Orange County, if you recall,
3:23:59 submitted their plan and their plan has been approved
3:24:01 and they also sent a request for a waiver.
3:24:06 I spoke with the Orange County board member the other day
3:24:08 and they have not gotten a response
3:24:10 to their request for a waiver.
3:24:12 They have been told it is not a no,
3:24:15 but it’s also not a yes yet.
3:24:17 So basically no response to that.
3:24:21 Duval County came out with their plan,
3:24:23 which has their K through five or six coming back
3:24:29 by August 31st to brick and mortar,
3:24:31 and then their secondary students are,
3:24:36 I think if I recall correctly,
3:24:39 they’re doing a couple of days in school
3:24:41 and a couple of days online until September 14th,
3:24:47 I wanna say.
3:24:49 But their plan also has not been approved by the state.
3:24:51 So my request to you all,
3:24:56 since I was the one who brought up
3:24:58 the whole metric discussion,
3:24:59 I would like for us as a board to identify some metrics
3:25:03 that we think are good indicators
3:25:06 of the safety of our community for return to school.
3:25:09 And then I would like to revisit those metrics
3:25:13 as we get to two weeks out from our start date.
3:25:18 And if we are not at a point
3:25:21 where we feel like we have reached a safe level of return,
3:25:26 I would like your authorization as board chair
3:25:28 to send a letter to the governor and the commissioner
3:25:32 with the facts and the research
3:25:34 about the safety of opening schools
3:25:35 where we currently are that sort of thing
3:25:37 and request a waiver for the requirement
3:25:39 to go back to brick and mortar on August 31st,
3:25:42 five days, full times a week,
3:25:43 full five days, full time.
3:25:47 I think as I expressed earlier,
3:25:49 I absolutely wanna get our kids back in school,
3:25:51 but I wanna do it safely
3:25:53 and I wanna do it in a way that encourages our ability
3:25:56 to continue to keep those schools open
3:25:59 and keep our employees and our staff safe.
3:26:02 And in full transparency to our community and to the board,
3:26:09 I don’t know that sending in a request for a waiver
3:26:11 is going to be successful.
3:26:14 They may say, no, you absolutely have to be
3:26:17 butts in seats in the buildings
3:26:18 by August 24th, your start date.
3:26:22 But I feel like I owe it to our community to at least try
3:26:26 and have a strong argument for the state based on facts.
3:26:33 And I think the only way that we can do that
3:26:34 is by identifying some metrics
3:26:36 that we feel are important to the analysis
3:26:40 of a safe opening.
3:26:43 So that’s where I’m at and I will open it up
3:26:45 for- - Ms. Belford,
3:26:48 may I just clarify one thing?
3:26:49 I think I heard you say open by August 31st,
3:26:53 but the board has approved in August 24th.
3:26:55 - 24th, yeah. - Okay.
3:26:56 - Yeah, the state requirement is the 31st, but yeah.
3:26:58 - Just didn’t want for any viewing audience
3:27:00 to think we were reconsidering a different start date.
3:27:03 - No, no, still are.
3:27:05 - Just for the board’s knowledge,
3:27:07 it just got an update on our plan.
3:27:08 We submitted our plan to the state last Friday
3:27:12 and we spoke to them today.
3:27:15 All of the plans have been put in a queue
3:27:16 based on the start date that they proposed
3:27:19 and they’re working through the ones
3:27:21 that are the earliest start dates.
3:27:23 And we expect ours will be up next week
3:27:25 and we should hear by next week the status of our approval.
3:27:28 We’re very confident it will be approved.
3:27:30 - Yeah, and speaking with the school board members
3:27:32 throughout the state, all of the plans
3:27:34 are very, very similar to what we’re doing.
3:27:37 So I think we have a good chance of that being the case.
3:27:43 - So any board member wish to weigh in one way or another?
3:27:49 - I’d like you to frame what your thoughts are
3:27:51 on the metrics so that we can get within a box.
3:27:54 I think that since you’ve done a lot of the research
3:27:55 on my end, I’d like to hear what your thoughts are.
3:27:57 I know what the DOHs were.
3:28:00 That would be my request,
3:28:02 unless somebody else wanted to start the process
3:28:04 since you brought it to us, that’s all.
3:28:05 - Sure.
3:28:07 You guys want me to go ahead with my recommendation?
3:28:09 So I will share with you that
3:28:13 it was a little disconcerting for me to hear a reference
3:28:26 that the CDC and the state had recommended 10%
3:28:29 because Dr. Redfield actually on the call on Friday,
3:28:34 the CDC call on Friday,
3:28:39 defined that there are some hotspots
3:28:41 where it may not be safe to open schools
3:28:42 and he indicated on that phone call,
3:28:45 and I think I sent you all the transcript of that,
3:28:50 that hotspots would be defined as places
3:28:52 where there is a greater than 5% positivity rate.
3:28:56 The Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
3:28:59 and their white paper that came out yesterday indicated 5%.
3:29:03 The US Surgeon General talked about positivity rate
3:29:08 and referenced the number of cases per 100,000 people.
3:29:14 So I think that is important as well.
3:29:17 There’s also the metric that I mentioned to you earlier,
3:29:21 Mr. Susan, came out of the Harvard Global Health Institute,
3:29:28 the path to zero in schools, and they have a phenomenal map.
3:29:32 If you all have not seen it,
3:29:34 I would really encourage you to take a look at it.
3:29:39 And they give a rating based on,
3:29:46 if you guys wanna pull it up, it’s globalepidemics.org.
3:29:54 They give that, the 17.6 rating, which I gave you earlier,
3:29:58 and that is a seven-day rolling average
3:30:02 based on daily cases per 100,000 population.
3:30:07 And they break it down into,
3:30:10 I think for the teachers and all of us,
3:30:13 they break it down into a color-coded grouping.
3:30:19 And we currently are in the orange grouping,
3:30:23 which is 10 to 24 cases per 100,000 people.
3:30:27 According to that study,
3:30:32 25-plus cases per 100,000 people cannot open safely.
3:30:35 Stay-at-home orders should be issued.
3:30:37 10 to 24 cases per 100,000 people will struggle.
3:30:41 Strategic choices must be made about which package
3:30:43 of non-pharmaceutical interventions to use for control.
3:30:46 Stay-at-home orders are advised unless viral testing
3:30:48 and contact tracing capacity are implementable
3:30:50 at levels meeting surge indicator standards.
3:30:54 They recommend a 24-hour turnaround on tests
3:30:56 and less than 3% positivity rate
3:30:59 for suppression in the orange areas.
3:31:01 And then for mitigation,
3:31:02 they recommend 24-hour turnaround on tests
3:31:04 and less than 10% positivity rate.
3:31:08 So we could certainly look at our numbers per 100,000,
3:31:12 and maybe we want to be in the yellow zone, I don’t know.
3:31:18 But I do think that’s an important number to look at,
3:31:22 only because I think it speaks
3:31:23 to what Mr. Susan was saying,
3:31:24 is let’s really look at our population,
3:31:26 as opposed to just the number of tests that are being done.
3:31:29 So I tend to like that.
3:31:33 We also heard that we should be looking at our death rates
3:31:36 and our hospitalizations from the health department.
3:31:42 So, I mean, those are some of the things
3:31:45 that we’ve heard that we should be looking at.
3:31:46 I don’t know if any of the board members
3:31:48 have opposition to any of those,
3:31:51 or if you have something else
3:31:53 that you would recommend that we include.
3:31:56 - One of the things, when we talk about that percentage
3:31:58 per 100,000 and everything else,
3:32:01 we’re in a different weird capacity
3:32:03 than what Harvard was giving,
3:32:04 because we’re specifically targeting our students.
3:32:07 So, and also geographically, we’re a little bit different.
3:32:12 Whereas Titusville may be a hotspot,
3:32:15 the rest of the county might not be.
3:32:17 So when we’re thinking about this,
3:32:18 I’d like us to think about regional,
3:32:20 because to me, keeping the school system moving
3:32:24 and keeping kids inside the classroom
3:32:25 and keeping fed and keeping workforce
3:32:27 and keeping everything going is the ultimate goal.
3:32:30 Only in a case where we are impacting negatively
3:32:33 the health and environment.
3:32:35 But I literally think that there’s a couple of anomalies
3:32:39 to look at also.
3:32:40 Not only the percentage per 100,000,
3:32:42 but then also the students.
3:32:44 I mean, we have X amount of students inside of our schools
3:32:48 that we are going to,
3:32:48 and scenarios where we close down a school, right?
3:32:52 So when we talk about closing down a school district,
3:32:54 my concern not so much is how much deaths are at the thing
3:32:58 or the percentage in the hospitals, beds and all that stuff.
3:33:01 To me, it’s how many of our schools are we shutting down
3:33:03 at the same time?
3:33:04 Is this creating a nightmare of a situation
3:33:07 that we can’t contain and go that route to?
3:33:10 So I think that should be part of what we’re doing,
3:33:13 is talking about hospitalization capacity
3:33:17 and death rates and stuff like that.
3:33:18 That’s one angle coming from the community, right?
3:33:22 The other angle is ours.
3:33:24 - If I could just remind you, Mr. Susan,
3:33:25 though we’re talking about if these metrics aren’t met,
3:33:29 then we’re going to request a waiver from the state
3:33:31 to allow us to postpone going back to brick and mortar,
3:33:34 to start off online.
3:33:37 So we won’t have metrics on students in the school
3:33:39 and schools being shut down
3:33:40 because we won’t have them there.
3:33:41 So I think we probably do need to have some discussion,
3:33:44 and Ms. Duskovich brought it up earlier
3:33:46 about what do the metrics look like when we have reopened
3:33:50 and we need to consider closing again.
3:33:52 - Okay, that’s where my head was at,
3:33:55 was I was thinking it wasn’t so much
3:33:56 sending the governor something,
3:33:57 but something we were going to work with them.
3:33:59 So this is prior to us opening, this is our concern.
3:34:01 Okay.
3:34:09 - I have a few issues with the metrics conversation,
3:34:13 just one in that our families are struggling
3:34:21 because they’re having to make these decisions
3:34:23 with what they know right now.
3:34:24 And we’ve given them everything that we can right now.
3:34:27 And yet it looks like even, you know,
3:34:29 some of them are, you know, far virtual e-learning,
3:34:33 whatever they’re trying to get all the information,
3:34:35 our virtual deadline, we extended it out till tomorrow.
3:34:38 Some families are waiting to see
3:34:39 what we do about masks today.
3:34:42 And now we’re saying that we might add one more catch,
3:34:47 one more catch that would mean that they need
3:34:50 to turn their family upside down
3:34:53 and figure out what they’re going to do with their kids.
3:34:57 And so I just, just overall, as we talk about metrics,
3:35:06 we just need to remember that, you know,
3:35:10 no matter what our rates have been from March until now,
3:35:13 we have had people in our community
3:35:18 who have to continue to work.
3:35:20 They provide our food, they provide our gas,
3:35:22 they manufacture the cleaning supplies
3:35:24 that we are relying on.
3:35:26 They are, you know, keeping us safe.
3:35:29 They are keeping us healthy.
3:35:31 And, you know, people in the community have said,
3:35:34 well, if we shut down in March when things weren’t as bad,
3:35:36 why would we not, why would we open now?
3:35:38 And that’s not a simple, there’s no simple questions.
3:35:41 Why we did it in March?
3:35:42 Because we didn’t know what we were talking about.
3:35:44 I mean, we didn’t know what we were facing.
3:35:45 We didn’t know what this, we didn’t have a treatment.
3:35:47 We didn’t have tests.
3:35:49 We didn’t know where it was.
3:35:50 People were afraid to walk outside.
3:35:53 You know, we’re in a different place.
3:35:54 We know so much more.
3:35:55 We’re testing at an enormous rate.
3:36:00 It’s a different ball game, but I just,
3:36:02 we just need to be aware that whatever we’re,
3:36:04 that we, what we would be doing to students who,
3:36:07 I go back to the equity issue.
3:36:10 We know that harm was done educational-wise to students then.
3:36:16 It will happen again, but worse.
3:36:21 Because more parents than in March, April, May,
3:36:25 will not be at home.
3:36:26 More parents will not be able to sit down with their students
3:36:28 ‘cause many of our parents were furloughed
3:36:30 or working from home, whatever.
3:36:32 But there’s not gonna be as many who have that option.
3:36:34 And I say that knowing that we’ve had some community members
3:36:37 who reach out and say, “Hey, we can do this option.
3:36:39 “We can have churches and nonprofits open as centers.”
3:36:42 And I have a real problem with that.
3:36:43 The biggest problem is we’re just moving the liability
3:36:46 and the risk from an organization that has funding
3:36:49 and training and supplies to volunteers
3:36:54 who will have the same risks,
3:36:56 who don’t have the training, don’t have the funding,
3:37:00 don’t have the supplies.
3:37:02 You know, and people have mentioned churches and nonprofits.
3:37:04 And just to remind everybody,
3:37:06 churches and nonprofits right now are hurting
3:37:08 because of the way economically they’re understaffed
3:37:12 and under-budgeted and people are having to let people go,
3:37:14 I mean, left and right.
3:37:16 But we’re saying, okay, let’s move the,
3:37:17 and will the kids who, you know, who don’t have someone
3:37:20 who can help with their school, they can do that.
3:37:23 It’s just not that simple.
3:37:25 And so I, you know, I want, I just feel like
3:37:29 we already have this great partnership
3:37:30 with the Department of Health.
3:37:32 They’ve been a part of the opening plan.
3:37:34 They’ve been, they’ve continued to work with us.
3:37:36 I think they’re gonna continue to work with us.
3:37:38 And if things start trending in a wrong direction,
3:37:40 they’re gonna come to us and say,
3:37:42 “We can do this in collaboration.”
3:37:43 Say, “Hey, things are getting worse.
3:37:45 “Let’s look at what we need to look at.”
3:37:48 I just, I don’t think that we’re there right now.
3:37:50 They sat there across the table,
3:37:52 even after giving this long presentation,
3:37:53 said, “We have a good plan.
3:37:55 “We have a good opening plan.”
3:37:56 They feel solid about it.
3:37:57 Are we gonna have cases?
3:37:59 Probably, yeah.
3:38:01 But I just, I don’t like the idea of,
3:38:08 because it kind of sounds like we’re moving towards,
3:38:10 you know, if things are the same way they are today,
3:38:13 in two weeks, then we’re gonna send a letter saying,
3:38:15 “Hey, we don’t even think, as things are today,
3:38:17 “that we don’t open.”
3:38:18 And I just think we need to remember when we’re doing that,
3:38:20 we are affecting a lot of families, adversely,
3:38:25 and a lot of kids who were just not going to be able to,
3:38:30 as much better as our distance learning will be this year,
3:38:32 when we have to do it than it was last year,
3:38:34 we’re not gonna be meeting their needs,
3:38:36 and they’re gonna fall further behind.
3:38:40 That didn’t really answer your question,
3:38:42 but that’s how I feel about the metrics conversation.
3:38:46 - Thank you, Ms. Campbell.
3:38:47 Ms. Dusty-Pitch, did you wanna weigh in?
3:38:49 - I, you know, I came into the meeting
3:38:51 with the 5% positivity number on my brain,
3:38:56 but after listening to our local health department
3:38:58 that knows our community and the health of our community
3:39:01 better than anyone should, in my opinion,
3:39:04 and it’s always bothered me that the 10% from South Florida,
3:39:07 that their target was to get to below 10%,
3:39:10 and we are below 10%.
3:39:13 I think metrics is a good idea.
3:39:17 I can’t stand just making decisions on feelings
3:39:20 because that gets us nowhere,
3:39:22 but I feel like our health department
3:39:24 kind of set some metrics and framework for us,
3:39:27 and that’s their job.
3:39:29 We wanted them to do the last meeting,
3:39:30 and I felt like we didn’t quite get there.
3:39:33 I was surprised.
3:39:34 I felt like they came in powerful this morning
3:39:36 and kind of set us a framework.
3:39:40 I’ve been, ‘cause no one has given us straight guidance
3:39:43 for our community.
3:39:44 I’ve got my little chart of day by day following it,
3:39:47 and she clearly said, “Stop doing that.
3:39:49 “Look at the average over two weeks.”
3:39:51 So that gave me guidance.
3:39:53 6.6 is within her range of below 10% and to watch that,
3:39:58 and I think our date of opening on August 24th is great,
3:40:02 but we watch it.
3:40:04 We watch it with them.
3:40:05 If that 6.6 jumps up to 12.5,
3:40:10 then we talk to our health department
3:40:11 and get their feedback at that time.
3:40:14 I think everything with this virus is a moving,
3:40:19 breathing virus, I mean, literally,
3:40:22 and we have to set some parameters, yes,
3:40:26 but also be flexible and listen
3:40:29 to our local health officials.
3:40:33 - Thank you, Ms. Duskovich, Ms. McDougall.
3:40:37 - Well, you know, when she talked about the 10%,
3:40:41 I have to admit I was surprised too,
3:40:43 because as I’m reading, everything is like 5%,
3:40:47 and we’re at 6.6, and yes, our local health department,
3:40:53 that presentation was amazing today,
3:40:55 and I really appreciate it.
3:40:57 Again, they are hampered because they are,
3:41:00 they can’t make decisions.
3:41:02 They have to take this, what’s going on here,
3:41:05 and kick it up to Tallahassee,
3:41:08 and so what I’m hearing this, if I’m hearing this right,
3:41:13 is that we want to look at a particular metric,
3:41:17 whatever that comes out to be,
3:41:19 and if we are over that metric,
3:41:22 that we’re sending a letter to the governor and say,
3:41:24 hey, look, this is what’s going on here.
3:41:28 We want to go ahead and open virtually,
3:41:33 instead of including our brick and mortar.
3:41:35 Am I understanding that correctly?
3:41:36 Is that what we’re looking at?
3:41:40 - Yes and no, Ms. McDougall.
3:41:41 So my recommendation would be that
3:41:44 we identify some metrics and, you know,
3:41:49 I think Ms. Duskovich makes a good point in the trending.
3:41:54 I think we do need to look at that 14 day metrics,
3:41:58 going down whatever metrics we decide they are.
3:42:02 My request would be that we identify the metrics
3:42:05 and then come back together
3:42:06 and look at where we are two weeks before opening,
3:42:08 and if we are not comfortable with where we are,
3:42:12 based on the metrics that we identified,
3:42:13 then we have a discussion about sending that letter
3:42:16 to the governor requesting waiver.
3:42:22 I too was very impressed
3:42:23 with our health department this morning,
3:42:24 but my concern is that they said, quite frankly,
3:42:30 they cannot give a recommendation
3:42:31 on opening or closing schools.
3:42:33 And so for us to go to them and say,
3:42:36 you know, two weeks from opening,
3:42:37 should we reopen schools?
3:42:38 I think we’re still gonna be told
3:42:40 that they cannot give a recommendation on opening schools.
3:42:44 And so I feel like lacking that,
3:42:47 that we need to identify some things
3:42:50 that we can look at to make that decision,
3:42:52 since we’re not getting that guidance anywhere else.
3:42:56 - Okay, so their number is anything under 10.
3:43:02 I am not an expert, but other experts have said five.
3:43:07 So I’m just, I have no idea
3:43:10 what metric number we should be choosing.
3:43:13 - Well, I’ll tell you for me,
3:43:15 when I questioned where that name or number came from
3:43:18 and she indicated that’s what the governor said,
3:43:22 I just find that to be a little bit convenient.
3:43:26 So I, for me, I would rather rely on the numbers
3:43:29 of all of the other experts from, you know, the CDC,
3:43:35 the American Academy of Pediatrics, all of those,
3:43:37 just my personal preference,
3:43:40 because I feel like certainly many of them
3:43:43 have weighed in at this point.
3:43:47 - That makes perfect sense to me, absolutely.
3:43:52 Mr. Susan, did you want to weigh in?
3:43:54 - Yeah, so you know how I feel, the testing metrics,
3:43:58 as far as how many tests came in negative and positive,
3:44:01 that to me is not that percentage.
3:44:03 I just, I have too many problems with,
3:44:06 especially with my grandmother, you know,
3:44:09 testing positive than negative.
3:44:10 And it just seems like an artificial one to me
3:44:13 to try to put the closure of schools
3:44:15 and so much of the stuff in.
3:44:18 So I want to say, I applaud you for all your efforts,
3:44:21 Ms. Belfort, because you are trying to get to a place
3:44:23 where you can say, this is how we’re gonna protect our kids.
3:44:27 And I’m trying to figure out a way to get there.
3:44:28 I want to help you.
3:44:30 I applaud your efforts to try to go through
3:44:32 all of the different angles to try to get an answer
3:44:35 through the web of everything.
3:44:36 And I think that it is our number one job
3:44:39 to protect our children.
3:44:40 So I’m trying as hard as I can to get through this for you.
3:44:43 But I would, if there was a metrics,
3:44:45 I would do percentage per 100,000.
3:44:47 I have a problem with, and we have,
3:44:50 what was it, 591,000 people in our district.
3:44:54 Hospitalization capacity, I love that.
3:44:57 Because for us to try to get to a point
3:44:59 where we can close a school,
3:45:01 I think that it’s getting to the point
3:45:03 where it’s a national emergency or a local emergency.
3:45:07 Hospitalization capacity as though it changes,
3:45:11 just like they were saying.
3:45:12 I talked to the directors of some people over at Stuart
3:45:16 and some people over at Health First.
3:45:19 And just like the Department of Health was saying,
3:45:21 all of a sudden they could open up an entire wing for ICU.
3:45:24 So it’s where are the beds at?
3:45:25 Like what capacity are we really in a problem to do that?
3:45:30 And then the death rates, I was looking at that.
3:45:32 And when I was floored, I don’t know if anybody else was,
3:45:34 but when they said that there was 40% of the death rates
3:45:37 were inside nursing homes, I was like, oh my gosh.
3:45:39 So that means that only 60% of the actual total deaths
3:45:43 are actually people that are not in,
3:45:44 that are outside in the normal.
3:45:45 So there was a lot of anomalies there.
3:45:47 So I’m trying to get where I can give you a recommendation,
3:45:51 but my heart falls somewhere in there.
3:45:54 The other thing that I point to is,
3:45:57 is that we’re geographically different.
3:46:00 So like, when we were talking about Norway
3:46:03 and some of those Sweden ones,
3:46:05 I read some papers where they were considering
3:46:07 that that may not be the best population
3:46:09 to do a comparison to,
3:46:11 only because they don’t have the same demographics
3:46:13 that we have and the same, not only demographics,
3:46:16 but capacity zones, like they have less people per capacity.
3:46:20 So saying that we can be like them and everything else
3:46:23 is kind of, it might be impossible.
3:46:26 So I’m trying to get there through the,
3:46:28 through the percentage per 100,000,
3:46:29 the hospitalization capacity and the death rates.
3:46:32 And one of the things that I keep coming back to is,
3:46:37 what some of my fellow board members have said over here is,
3:46:40 is that there seems to be a moving target.
3:46:42 And saying that we have specific numbers
3:46:45 and this is how we’re gonna do it,
3:46:47 causes for concern.
3:46:48 So what I would say is, is I’m okay with setting numbers
3:46:51 and then meeting with the hospitalization teams,
3:46:55 the DOH, you know what I mean,
3:46:56 in a collaborative effort and sit down and say,
3:46:58 “Okay, we’re at that point.
3:47:01 “Is this what we wanna do?
3:47:03 “Talk to us.
3:47:04 “Do you need us to?
3:47:05 “Can we get through this?”
3:47:06 You know what I mean?
3:47:07 Kind of that fail safe.
3:47:08 But to me, I really think that it behooves us
3:47:10 to pull the community into,
3:47:13 or the leaders that effectively are making each one
3:47:15 of these decisions to make that decision.
3:47:17 So that’s where my mind’s at right now, if you could ask.
3:47:21 - And just for clarity,
3:47:22 I’m not recommending we make a decision
3:47:24 off of one day of metrics.
3:47:28 You know, I go back to the- - No, no, no, I know.
3:47:29 I know. - To what I gave you guys
3:47:30 before and that is,
3:47:31 I think that we need to look at the 14 day downward trend
3:47:34 on whatever we look at.
3:47:36 I don’t even know that we set,
3:47:39 maybe 5% is not comfortable,
3:47:41 but maybe we wanna see the number going down for 14 days
3:47:44 as opposed to increasing.
3:47:49 So one other one that I don’t think I mentioned earlier
3:47:52 was the testing turnaround.
3:47:54 I think that’s an important one
3:47:55 because if we can’t get test results quickly,
3:47:58 I think it’s difficult for us to keep our schools open
3:48:00 ‘cause we’re gonna have so many people out.
3:48:02 - Ms. Belfort, didn’t Ms. Moore tell us that,
3:48:05 or didn’t the health department tell us
3:48:06 that our employees will be categorized as essential workers
3:48:10 and they’ll be turned around in 48 hours-ish?
3:48:21 - Ms. Moore, can you turn your mic on please?
3:48:24 - Did make that offer and so far we’ve,
3:48:26 I’ve sent three or four people down to them.
3:48:29 It’s not a case that people can just show up and say,
3:48:32 “Hey, I’m a school board employee.”
3:48:34 It has to go through my office
3:48:36 to label them as essential workers
3:48:39 in order for them to put them on as first responders
3:48:42 and get that turnaround time, yeah.
3:48:44 - And have they gotten a turnaround time?
3:48:46 - I’m sorry?
3:48:47 - The three that you’ve sent,
3:48:48 have they gotten a quick turnaround time?
3:48:49 - I do not follow up on cases.
3:48:51 - Okay.
3:48:53 - Keeping in mind, of course,
3:48:54 those are employees, not students.
3:48:59 - So Ms. Moore, do you have concerns
3:49:01 about our current testing turnaround
3:49:03 with regard to our ability to manage what we have going on?
3:49:07 - I do.
3:49:10 - I know that the rapid test is becoming more available.
3:49:14 I know that Medfast has all got theirs.
3:49:16 There’s other people.
3:49:17 Ms. Moore, how strongly do you feel about that rapid test
3:49:22 for our employees for a positive COVID case?
3:49:25 If they go down and they get one
3:49:26 and it’s negative or positive,
3:49:28 do you feel pretty solid about that
3:49:30 or can you talk to me about that?
3:49:31 - I follow the DOH guidance.
3:49:34 They have let me know every time that we’ve had an employee
3:49:36 that has a negative rapid test,
3:49:39 that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re negative
3:49:41 and encourages them to get the other test
3:49:44 that takes longer.
3:49:46 I can’t speak to what test is what.
3:49:48 All I can tell you is that when our employees
3:49:51 get a rapid negative response,
3:49:54 they ask them to be retested.
3:49:56 - So even if they get a rapid response,
3:49:58 that would not change the status of that individual
3:50:01 until they get a regular test through the DOH,
3:50:04 is what you’re saying, or other place.
3:50:12 - I’m gonna ask you to clarify the question.
3:50:14 I apologize. - No problem.
3:50:15 ‘Cause what I consistently heard you say was,
3:50:18 ‘cause I noticed that some of our other providers
3:50:20 are starting to pick up
3:50:21 and have more of the rapid tests available, right?
3:50:24 So what Ms. Belford was saying is the main issue is,
3:50:27 is our testing needs to be sped up
3:50:28 so that we can manage what’s going on.
3:50:32 But what I wanted to do is understand
3:50:35 if the rapid test is a positive,
3:50:37 it would be a classification that we could use,
3:50:41 or it’s not, because what you’re telling me is,
3:50:44 is that no matter they get it,
3:50:45 but you’re still asking them to test again anyway.
3:50:48 - No, a positive is a positive.
3:50:52 If it’s a positive test, it’s a positive,
3:50:53 and we treat it like a positive.
3:50:54 It’s a negative.
3:50:56 We do ask them to retest.
3:51:00 We recommend that they retest.
3:51:02 We can’t ask them specifically to retest.
3:51:06 So we recommend that they retest.
3:51:08 I’ll just remind you that there have been times
3:51:12 when the turnaround time was 24 to 48 hours.
3:51:16 Within that turnaround time,
3:51:18 we can effectively notify people and quarantine people
3:51:21 and isolate people and all of the things that we need to do.
3:51:25 It’s just when it turns into a five to seven
3:51:27 or a seven to 10, or God help us, a 10 to 14 turnaround time
3:51:32 that we’ve missed the window where we can catch
3:51:35 and isolate and notify it and have an impact.
3:51:37 So when we can get it down to a two-day turnaround time,
3:51:45 it does help us quickly make decisions
3:51:48 and quickly isolate the infection
3:51:53 in terms of how we know to notify our board employees
3:51:57 and our students and their families.
3:52:00 - Okay, and then the other question
3:52:01 that you kind of alluded to,
3:52:03 that your office is screening who out of our district
3:52:06 is actually able to go to the DOH and get that test.
3:52:09 Can you give me like the screening levels or?
3:52:13 I was under the assumption that–
3:52:14 - Yeah, so far there hasn’t been any screening.
3:52:16 It’s been, oh, you want it, you need it, we need you, go.
3:52:19 There hasn’t been anybody that I’ve said,
3:52:21 no, you don’t count and I can’t foresee me ever saying that.
3:52:25 I just wanted to make sure our employees knew
3:52:27 not to contact the DOH directly
3:52:30 because they’re not going, what they’re gonna say is,
3:52:32 we don’t know you’re a board employee.
3:52:34 And they’re depending on us to do that shortcut for them.
3:52:38 They’re handling a lot of tests a day.
3:52:40 All they ask for us is that myself or my secretary
3:52:44 make that appointment with them
3:52:47 so that they don’t have to handle that extra piece.
3:52:51 - Yeah, Ms. Moore, in going forward,
3:52:55 your secretary or you, we might get to a point
3:52:57 where we have 200 people that are supposed to go test.
3:53:01 What is the process gonna look like for that?
3:53:03 - Well, we know that they were interviewing
3:53:06 for a nurse liaison and I actually think
3:53:07 they were interviewing for two nurse liaisons
3:53:10 to work at the district level.
3:53:11 I know for a fact one, but I believe it’s going to be two.
3:53:16 And once that person is on board,
3:53:18 that whole thing is gonna be shifted over to them.
3:53:21 That interview was either Friday or Monday.
3:53:25 And so I’m really hoping by next week
3:53:29 to have that person on board
3:53:31 and they will handle all of that.
3:53:33 - So that person will be the point person
3:53:37 that if I’m a teacher, I’m a custodian,
3:53:40 I’m a administrator, I call that person,
3:53:43 that person is gonna say, good, go now,
3:53:46 go, you know what I mean?
3:53:47 We’ve contacted, they’re the in-between.
3:53:49 - That’s correct.
3:53:50 - Okay.
3:53:52 Okay, thank you.
3:53:52 - That’s my vision of it.
3:53:54 We don’t have that person,
3:53:55 but that’s gonna be like item number one on the list.
3:53:57 - Okay, thank you.
3:54:04 - All right, so where do we wanna go?
3:54:08 What do we wanna do?
3:54:08 We’re 49 minutes late for our workshop.
3:54:14 I will say, I still feel strongly
3:54:16 that we need a downward trend of 14 days.
3:54:19 Whatever metrics we throw in there,
3:54:21 I think it needs to be going in the right direction.
3:54:23 I think we need testing in 24 to 36 hours.
3:54:29 I think those are important aspects
3:54:31 to us being able to open successfully and stay open.
3:54:36 - Ms. Belford, what if it stays,
3:54:38 she said it’s leveled off
3:54:39 and it’s kind of stayed consistent recently
3:54:41 in the last couple of weeks.
3:54:42 What if it stays consistent?
3:54:44 Is that, you don’t wanna see that either?
3:54:47 Or is it just an upward trend that you don’t wanna see?
3:54:51 - I will say every medical expert that I’ve spoken to
3:54:54 has indicated there needs to be a downward trend
3:54:56 because apparently the downward,
3:54:58 that 14 day downward trend is important
3:55:01 in things actually declining.
3:55:05 If you guys wanna say level off or downward trend,
3:55:10 regardless of what we set out,
3:55:11 I think we have to come back together
3:55:13 and have discussion about the numbers that we’re seeing
3:55:15 and where we go from there two weeks prior to our opening.
3:55:19 If we’re, or, you know, whatever date we set,
3:55:24 I think we still have to come back together.
3:55:25 But I do think that we need to identify, you know,
3:55:29 what the indicators would be.
3:55:32 - I just feel like that’s kind of built into,
3:55:36 actually to the executive order,
3:55:37 as much as some people may trust or not trust it,
3:55:40 it’s built into the executive order is the advice.
3:55:46 And I think what the other word is,
3:55:47 I just had it pulled up a second ago.
3:55:53 I won’t be able to find it.
3:55:54 But the advice or, you know,
3:55:59 mandate, I don’t think, you know,
3:56:01 we’ve talked about they’re not gonna be able to do that.
3:56:03 There’s been some– - Recommendation.
3:56:05 - But they’ve been giving us advice all along.
3:56:06 So I think, you know, if we go from a six point,
3:56:09 whatever we are right now, to a 12, you know,
3:56:13 it would have to be some pretty severe spikes
3:56:15 for us to get that far over a two week period.
3:56:17 I mean, I’m pretty sure our Department of Health
3:56:19 is gonna advise us otherwise.
3:56:22 You know, I– - I don’t think
3:56:23 they’re going to advise us not to open our schools.
3:56:25 I think they have been very clear
3:56:28 that they cannot advise us
3:56:29 not to reopen brick and mortar schools.
3:56:32 - I have concerns with, we have a plan
3:56:35 with the numbers that we have now,
3:56:36 and they’ve sat across the room from us and said,
3:56:38 we have a good plan for us to be still, you know,
3:56:41 at the 6% area, which is really close to five.
3:56:46 And at that point to say,
3:56:50 to upend everybody’s expectations of what we’re doing,
3:56:53 you know, two weeks later, and,
3:56:59 I’m just not really willing to go there.
3:57:01 On a, you know, if we’re sitting where we are now,
3:57:04 or close, for us to say, we’re gonna ask,
3:57:08 as one of the lowest percentage positive counties
3:57:12 in the whole entire state, to ask for a waiver,
3:57:15 you know, that could potentially adversely affect
3:57:18 lots of students and lots of families,
3:57:21 and we’re sitting in the same place where we are today,
3:57:24 which they told us today is not perfect, not great,
3:57:28 but it’s a good, we’re good place,
3:57:31 especially compared to other parts in the state.
3:57:34 - I respect that stance, Ms. Campbell.
3:57:36 And I, you know, I’m thankful
3:57:38 that we can have these conversations,
3:57:40 and I know it’s difficult for everyone.
3:57:44 And I absolutely understand where you’re coming from
3:57:47 in turning people upside down.
3:57:48 My only concern is I think it’s going to be
3:57:51 even more disruptive if we go back into school
3:57:53 and have to close, you know, two weeks later,
3:57:56 ‘cause we have major outbreak
3:57:58 because we have craziness going on in the community.
3:58:00 So that’s just, just so you know where my heart is,
3:58:02 where it’s coming from.
3:58:04 - I have no problem meeting two weeks before
3:58:06 and reevaluating where we’re at.
3:58:08 I think it’s probably responsible of us to do that.
3:58:11 This could change at any moment.
3:58:13 We’ve been watching this over the last few months.
3:58:15 But I have more confidence today
3:58:17 after hearing from our health department
3:58:19 than I have up until this day.
3:58:22 She may not have been able to say,
3:58:24 you should close or you should not close,
3:58:26 but I felt like all of the language was positive.
3:58:28 She said, we’re in a good place, we’re leveling out,
3:58:32 we’re not climbing.
3:58:34 I think we have to infer if she’s not allowed to say,
3:58:36 yes, open or yes, close, we have to refer from her language.
3:58:39 And her language was not negative.
3:58:43 Yes, she said masks, yes, she said social distance,
3:58:45 but her language was all in a positive direction.
3:58:49 And Ms. Campbell said she felt like she was open
3:58:52 and honest with us and I kind of got the same impression.
3:58:56 And I have to have faith that if these numbers jump
3:58:59 past 10% quickly and we climb the next two weeks,
3:59:02 we sit back down in the same situation
3:59:05 that she would have to say, this doesn’t look good.
3:59:08 This has been climbing and we as board members
3:59:11 would have to infer what that means
3:59:13 and what we would need to do at that point.
3:59:18 - So Ms. McDougall and Mr. Susan,
3:59:20 I need you guys to weigh in.
3:59:22 - Yeah, I’m not, I really don’t like the percentage
3:59:25 that testing and positive rates.
3:59:28 I would rather do a hundred thousand.
3:59:30 So like I, that thing scares the heck out of me
3:59:32 just by looking at the note, total number
3:59:34 and the different pieces, as far as deciding
3:59:36 if we’re gonna close schools on a trend rate.
3:59:38 So that’s where my head was.
3:59:40 I’m trying to figure out hospital capacity.
3:59:43 I’ve texted some of the people that I know
3:59:44 that are in that range, death rates.
3:59:46 I’m trying to figure out, I’m trying to get you there,
3:59:49 but I just.
3:59:50 - So let me simplify it for you.
3:59:51 Are you wanting to set metrics?
3:59:54 - I would like to set something
3:59:55 so that we can protect our people.
3:59:58 What that is may totally be different
4:00:00 than what other people are thinking,
4:00:01 but we definitely need to have something in place
4:00:05 that people can say, hey, we’re getting close.
4:00:07 We need to get, I mean, just having an open-ended,
4:00:09 we’ll get together and everything else.
4:00:11 I think that’s kind of a scary place.
4:00:13 We have deliverables on everything else.
4:00:15 So I’m there, I just need to figure out how that works
4:00:18 and I’m trying to get there for you, if it can help you.
4:00:21 - Yep, Ms. McDougall, did you want to weigh in?
4:00:23 - You know, I agree that we need some types of metrics
4:00:26 and certainly no matter what, we need to get together
4:00:30 at least two weeks before school to see where we are
4:00:32 as a community.
4:00:34 Oh, yes.
4:00:36 - Isn’t that like next week?
4:00:38 Two weeks before we start?
4:00:41 - Well, no, ‘cause we don’t start until the 24th, so.
4:00:43 - It’s the 30th, seven days, that’s seven.
4:00:46 - Our next board meeting is August 11th,
4:00:48 which is not quite two weeks.
4:00:49 - It’s close enough, okay.
4:00:52 - So not hearing, it sounds like we have consensus.
4:01:00 - For revisiting in a couple of weeks
4:01:04 and making a decision at that point,
4:01:06 it does not sound like we have consensus
4:01:08 for identifying definitive metrics today.
4:01:14 - No, I can’t figure it out right now.
4:01:16 - That’s fine, that’s fine.
4:01:21 Okay, so then we will revisit the issue.
4:01:24 Next time we come back together,
4:01:26 we’ll relook at our numbers and am I understanding correctly
4:01:30 that you all would like to have the health department
4:01:31 available at that meeting if possible?
4:01:33 - Absolutely.
4:01:36 - We can tell them that it’ll be less than two hours.
4:01:39 - So Ms. Moore, and Ms. Askevar,
4:01:43 do we have a workshop on the 11th?
4:01:45 - Yes.
4:01:49 - Can we fit in a board work session?
4:01:56 How early?
4:02:00 Do you guys wanna schedule a work session that morning
4:02:04 at 10 prior to the board workshop for discussion of this?
4:02:09 - What day are you looking at, the 11th?
4:02:10 - August 11th.
4:02:12 - Yeah, I’m fine with that.
4:02:14 - That’s fine.
4:02:17 - Ms. Campbell?
4:02:17 - I’m good, now that it’s not the first day
4:02:19 of school anymore.
4:02:20 - Mr. Susan?
4:02:21 - Yeah.
4:02:21 - Okay, Ms. Askevar, could you please schedule
4:02:24 a work session for August 11th?
4:02:25 And Ms. Moore, would you please see if our friends
4:02:28 from the health department are available?
4:02:31 All right, is there any more business
4:02:32 for this work session?
4:02:35 All right, then we will call that adjourned.
4:02:38 And you guys wanna do like a 10 minute break
4:02:41 before we go into workshop?
4:02:49 - You hit the gavel, we come back.
4:02:51 You hit the gavel, we come back.
4:02:52 Groundhog it.
4:02:58 (door closes)
4:03:28 (upbeat music)