Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, an independently-elected member of the Florida Cabinet, held a virtual press conference to release and discuss school district COVID-19 data which Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration has worked to block.
This data shows clear evidence that school districts requiring masks resulted in up to four times lower COVID-19 cases per capita than school districts that did not require masks. Commissioner Fried released the data in advance of today’s Board of Education meeting, which will determine punishment for eleven Florida school districts requiring masks.
On August 12, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services public record requested COVID-19 data from the Florida Department of Health, including daily cases, deaths, and hospitalizations for every Florida county and every age, as well as ICU capacity.
On August 12, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services public record requested COVID-19 data from the Florida Department of Health, including daily cases, deaths, and hospitalizations for every Florida county and every age, as well as ICU capacity.
Nearly two months later, these public records have not been provided; Commissioner Fried therefore directed her department to compile and analyze all publicly available COVID-19 data from school districts, so that the public may know how COVID-19 has impacted Florida schools and the effects of mask-wearing policies.
Fried Claims Governor Releases Misinformation On Masking In Schools
“For months, Governor DeSantis has worked to undermine masks in the fight against COVID-19, releasing misinformation about so-called ‘forced masking’ at every turn, despite nearly all experts agreeing that masks work. When brave local elected school leaders dared to defy the Governor and require masks in schools, his petty response has been to defund our school districts. Because his Administration has refused to provide the COVID-19 data I requested months ago, I have directed my staff to compile all publicly available COVID-19 school data. This data clearly shows the truth: the Governor is lying about masks in schools,” said Commissioner Fried. “Every way you look at the data, kids were better off in schools requiring masks than those that did not. School districts that did nothing suffered four times higher COVID-19 cases than school districts that required masks, in direct contradiction to the Governor’s disinformation. I stand with students, parents, teachers, and President Biden in support of our school districts that have taken action to keep kids healthy, keep parents working, and keep communities safe.”
VIDEO: A livestream of today’s press conference can be viewed here on Facebook Live.
VIDEO: A livestream of today’s press conference can be viewed here on Facebook Live.
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