What you need to know about COVID-19 guidelines ahead of the Sarasota-Manatee school year
In theory, a student in Manatee or Sarasota County schools can test positive for COVID-19 and go to school the next day without a mask during the school year that begins Wednesday, Aug. 10.
Heading into the 2022-23 school year, Sarasota and Manatee counties recommend — but cannot force — students, teachers and staff stay home following a positive COVID-19 test result, according to district spokespersons.
In line with the state's policies, the districts also cannot ask about COVID-19 vaccination status.
Facemasks remain optional in schools.
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In both school districts, if a student or staff member shows COVID symptoms in school, they could be sent home by nursing staff — as with any illness such as the flu, spokespersons said.
Entering the last school year, the delta variant of the COVID virus prompted Sarasota Schools to implement a mask mandate a few weeks in, a controversial decision with lingering effects.
Now, with positivity rates higher than when the mask mandate was implemented, the district is moving forward with much looser COVID-19 policies.
"COVID-19 will be treated like any other illness," said Kelsey Whealy, spokesperson for the Sarasota County School District.
At the state level, the Department of Education's COVID-19 guidelines have not been updated since Feb. 24. Its current guidelines state that no healthy student should be quarantined, no one is required to wear a mask and a child should never be forced to wear a mask.
The Department of Health is not conducting contact tracing for COVID-19 cases, and Sarasota Schools will not have a COVID-19 dashboard monitoring the virus' status among the school population on its website, said Sarasota district spokesperson Kelsey Whealy.
The district will not request a quarantine period for people exposed to COVID-19, but it it will recommend people with positive tests stay home for five days and until they are symptom-free.
In Manatee County, Michael Barber, a district spokesperson, echoed Sarasota Schools' approach — COVID-19 will be treated just as any other illness. Despite not being able to enforce quarantines for students, teachers and staff, Barber said the district encourages parents and staff to stay home if they aren't feeling well.
"If you're sick or you have symptoms, don't come to school or don't come to work," he said.
Marissa Levine, the director of the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice at the University of South Florida, said this year's COVID policies are not surprising given the state's approach to the virus.
"We have to learn how to live with COVID, but I don't think we need to ignore and deny that COVID is here," she said.
Because of the halt in contact tracing in schools, Levine said she's worried parents won't know what's going on with COVID in their students' schools. The best practice for parents preparing kids for the school year is to fully vaccinate them, have them wear a mask and be aware of potential spread around them, she said.
COVID-19 positivity rates in Sarasota, Manatee counties
Phone messages left with the health departments in Sarasota and Manatee counties for comment were not returned.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, Florida averaged 78,311 COVD cases a day over the past week, with 448 deaths, and a positivity testing rate of about 23%.
Sarasota County's COVID-19 positivity rate was about 25%, with about 196 cases reported per day as of Aug. 2, according to data compiled by the New York Times. To date, the county has reported 106,942 cases and 1,713 deaths.
Manatee County's COVID-19 positivity rate was about 27% with about 186 cases reported per day as of Aug. 2, according to data compiled by the New York Times. To date, the county has reported 110,423 cases and 1,509 deaths.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota and Manatee County Schools 2022-23 COVID-19 protocol
