�������ýҕ�l

The skyrocketing COVID-19 surge in Florida is shattering records and ravaging the state’s younger population. Florida has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks because of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, which has led to a major increase in state hospitalizations. By next week, 68% of hospitals are expected to reach a critical staffing shortage, according to an Aug. 9 survey by the Florida Hospital Association. The majority of Florida's new cases are among individuals between the ages of 20 and 39, who remain among the least vaccinated age groups in the state. (Santucci and Segarra, 8/14)

Less than a week before schools are set to reopen in Florida's Broward County, local union officials say three educators have died of complications from the coronavirus. The deaths were all recorded within a 24-hour span, according to union officials representing employees of the local school district. Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco said the start of the new school year has been a mix of emotions as the first day approaches. (Mistich, 8/14)

The chairwoman of the Broward County School Board in Florida said on Sunday that the district had no choice but to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’s ban on mask mandates. “We’re living out the nightmare of the Covid pandemic, where so many people in our county, including members of our staff and others, are being impacted,” said Rosalind Osgood, who heads the school board, on the CBS program “Face the Nation.” (Delkic, 8/15)

The University of Florida will open its upcoming semester with in-person classes, reversing itself within hours of telling students the term might begin online because of the state’s renewed COVID-19 outbreak. The Gainesville Sun reports UF administrators sent an email to students Friday afternoon telling them that after consulting with university epidemiologists, plans were being made to put the first three weeks of school online. (8/15)