BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Brevard Public Schools updated its COVID-19 dashboard Friday showing more than 400 students and employees tested positive.
That breaks down to 88 employees and 385 students. The district noted its new dashboard also reflects cases prior to this first week of school.
During the first week, a Herbert Hoover Middle School parent said her seventh-grade son was sent home.
Michelle Zrelak said her son is one of the thousand people who the district reported in its number of quarantines on its dashboard. The mother said he was too close to someone who tested positive.
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‘’He is not allowed to come in or out of his room except to go to the restroom,” Zrelak said. “This is a very hard situation to deal with and I pray for all the kids that are experiencing this, the parents.”
In the county’s weekly update on the pandemic, the Florida Department of Health in Brevard described infections as a ‘saturation’ in the community right now.
Community Health Director John Davis reported an infection rate he said was 14 times higher than earlier this summer — 700 per 100,000, compared to 50 per 100,000 weeks ago. The Department of Health in Brevard County said that equals 4,000 cases in a week.
The Brevard County school board voted 3-2 Tuesday night to keep mask-wearing an option in public schools, but spokesperson Katherine Allen said face coverings are still highly encouraged for students.
‘’Our children are fearful when they see fear and uncertainty,” Allen said during the weekly update.
The health department said a third of Brevard County children ages 12-14 are vaccinated.
The percentage increased to 41% for 15-19-year-olds.