COVID cases in Miami-Dade and Broward schools spiked right before Thanksgiving

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Miami-Dade and Broward counties’ public schools spiked right before the Thanksgiving holiday and have fluctuated ever since, according to online numbers provided by both districts.

Miami-Dade public schools saw their highest number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on Nov. 24 when 120 people — 65 students and 55 employees — were added to the district’s online dashboard tracking the virus. This is the most reported since in-person classes resumed in early October.

Since classes resumed after the break, the highest day has been Dec. 4 when 89 cases were added to the ledger.

The dashboards maintained by Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties’ school districts are not up-to-date indicators of the COVID-19 situation in the classroom. The cases are added only after the Florida Department of Health confirms the diagnosis of those who self-report they have the illness.

So the actual number of COVID-19 cases in South Florida schools is likely higher than what appears on the dashboards.

In total, as of Wednesday, 1,097 Miami-Dade students and 653 employees have been confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus since Oct. 5.

The schools with the most confirmed cases are John Ferguson Senior High (28), Eugenia B. Thomas K-8 Center (24), Miami Senior High (24) and Coral Reef Senior High (22), according to the Miami-Dade dashboard.

In Broward, 455 students and 465 employees are confirmed to have tested positive since students were allowed to return to brick and mortar schools Oct. 9.

Like in Miami-Dade, the days leading up to Thanksgiving saw the highest case count so far. The most cases were added to the Broward dashboard on Nov. 16 — 24 students and seven staffers.

Before then, the highest days were Nov. 2, 3 and 4, when 29 cases were added for each of those days.

The schools with the highest numbers so far are Western High (30), Miramar High (25) and Fort Lauderdale High (22).

In-person learning in Monroe County resumed in late August, but Keys schools have not seen the type of numbers its neighboring districts to the north have.

Since Aug. 31, a total of 120 students, teachers and other staff members have tested positive for COVID, according to its dashboard. The day with the highest confirmed case count was Tuesday, with nine students.

Key West High School has had the most cases (28), followed by Marathon Middle High School (14) and Coral Shores High School (10).