COVID-19 Trends in Florida K-12 Schools, August 10 – November 14, 2020

Data collected from 38 states from August 3 – November 15, 2020 showed more than 250,000 confirmed student and staff cases of SARS-CoV-2 in K-12 schools 1 . Yet, analysis of COVID-19 case data in USA schools has been extremely limited 2,3 . To date, no large-scale or state-wide analyses by school level and grade has been published, opening a wide gap in understanding COVID-19 in American schools. A large-scale assessment of available data and trends could provide a baseline for understanding the virus in the K-12 learning environment and dispel misconceptions about the prevalence of COVID-19 in schools. Table of Contents Summary Using the most comprehensive database of K-12 COVID-19 case data in the country, Florida provides clues for understanding student and staff cases in schools. What’s known on this subject Florida schools began reopening to in-person instruction in August have reported more than 18,000 student and staff cases of COVID-19 as of November 14, 2020. Incidence of COVID-19 cases in K-12 students and staff is of urgent public health concern. What this study adds COVID-19 cases reported in Florida schools were most influenced by community case rates, district mask policies, and percent of students attending face-to-face. Student case rates were highest in high schools (12.5 per 1,000).