Confusion in Polk after Lakeland football team's COVID-19 case
LAKELAND, Fla. - The Lakeland High School football team shut down activities for two weeks following a positive COVID-19 test, the district confirmed Wednesday.
In a statement posted on the district's website, a spokesperson for Polk County Schools wrote: "As a precaution, the program is following CDC-recommended guidance from the Florida Department of Health in Polk County and will suspend all operations through Sept. 22. Lakeland High’s first two games of the season (against George Jenkins and Plant City) have been canceled; at this time, it is unlikely the games will be rescheduled. Due to privacy and medical records laws, Polk County Public Schools cannot identify anyone who has tested positive, or provide additional details about the COVID-19 case impacting LHS football."
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A district spokesperson told FOX 13 a single person tested positive, but wouldn't release any further information Wednesday. A day earlier, a lack of information regarding the situation caused school board member Billy Townsend to express concern during the board's meeting.
"If there's a situation that's intolerable that shuts down a football program, what's the situation that's intolerable to shut down face to face operations at the school?" he asked again during an interview with FOX 13.
It didn't appear during the school board meeting that anyone, not even the district's top administrators, had the answer.
"There are no magic numbers that we're working with. We're working on a case-by-case basis," said Deputy Superintendent John Hill.
Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd said they just received the information before the meeting.
"We don't know if it's adults, students. We don't have the details on that yet," she said.
For Townsend, the uncertainty puts a concerning spotlight on the district with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Tampa Bay and the school that has had the most. Since Aug. 28, there have been about 80 positive COVID-19 cases in Polk County schools and at least 15 of them have been in Lakeland High School.
MAP: Florida coronavirus cases by county
"It's confirmed in, I think, more than a quarter of our schools. I would be surprised if it's not in all of them really," Townsend said, calling Lakeland High School an apparent "epicenter."
The district confirms students and staff at Lakeland High School have had to quarantine, but only the health department can say how many.
The Polk County Health Department, however, will not give out that information.
"At this time, information regarding cases or epidemiological investigations are not available and exempt from public records disclosure," health department spokesperson Nicole Riley claimed in a statement. "The department is working to make some of this information available in the coming days and weeks."
"It's pretty hard to track that information down when the health department is sort of telling you what to do and sort of not telling you what to do," Townsend said, adding the quarantines and unanswered questions about the football make him wonder if COVID-19 is putting too much stress on faculty. "I think that's why you're going to see teachers leaving the profession in real-time because it's killing them, not just COVID-wise, it's killing them in terms of the stress of doing it."
Regarding keeping Lakeland High School open while shutting down the football team, a district spokesperson released an additional statement to FOX 13: "On a daily basis, we are making sure that all families are notified about any COVID-19 cases impacting their schools. Much of this same information is available to the public at polkschoolsfl.com/covidschoolcommunications.
We have an obligation to keep our campuses open to serve our community to the best of our ability, despite the challenges presented by this pandemic. We are using all available resources to protect our students and staff, and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. PCPS continues to work closely with the Florida Department of Health in Polk County to ensure we are taking appropriate measures in each case impacting our schools."
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LINK: Florida's COVID-19 website
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