DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep across the Sunshine State.
In Miami-Dade County, more than 1,700 new confirmed cases have been reported in the last 24 hours.
In Broward, just over 700 new patients have tested positive for COVID-19, and in Monroe County, 34 new cases have popped up in the last day.
Meanwhile, lawsuits are being fought between school officials and the federal government over the reopening of schools throughout the state.
Local superintendents have argued that schools cannot reopen physically in South Florida because it is the epicenter of the pandemic. However, that’s not the case for the rest of the state.
“Nationwide, more than 338,000 children have tested positive for the virus,” James Clyburn, U.S. Representative of North Carolina, said.
Clyburn weighed in on reopening schools across the United States.
“We need to follow the science. First, children can get the coronavirus, and they can pass it on to others,” he said.
Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie also spoke on the forum of the congressional subcommittee Thursday.
“Our children have so many abilities and talents to develop, and countless dreams that are being stifled by COVID-19. We owe it to them and future generations to meet this pandemic head-on by developing and implementing national and local strategies to get this pandemic under control,” he said.
Runcie and Clyburn spoke to the congressional subcommittee on the challenges of safely reopening K-12 schools.
Runcie said Broward County cannot safely reopen right now, and school districts across the country are going to need help.
“I’m also urging and begging our federal government to pass an additional coronavirus relief package that responds to the impact of COVID-19 and assists with the ongoing recovery by providing at least $200 billion to public schools across this country,” Runcie said.
His statement comes as the Florida Education Association, along with school employees and parents sue the state of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis for forcing schools to reopen.
“Our governor and our commission of education think that we can just reopen schools and all will be well. All will not be well. All will not be well, Mr. Coffrey. All will not be well, Mr. DeSantis,” Fredrick Ingram, president of the FEA, said. “Your teachers, your educational support professionals, your children, the students of this state, are depending on real leadership.”
An emergency hearing was held, with the judge granting attorneys for the state a change of venue. The case will now be held in Tallahassee in Leon County.
The decisions come after the Florida Senate Democratic Caucus sent a letter urging Gov. DeSantis to reconsider the push to open schools, citing seven recent deaths of children in Florida asking at the end of the letter, “What parent is prepared to play Russian roulette with their child’s life?”
“The academic component has been critical. What you lose in distance learning is something that is, as much as we put into it in Florida and a good job, it’s just not the same,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis held his own roundtable discussion on Thursday, talking about sports and the urgency for students to begin playing again.
“I just, as governor, want to say that I’m standing with our coaches and athletes. We need to have them back,” he said.
The schools reopening lawsuit will be heard in Tallahassee as early as Monday.
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