There is good news at the county and state levels regarding COVID-19 risk numbers.
According to daily totals from the Center For Disease Control’s (CDC) Data Tracker (covidactnow.org), Florida has trended into the “High” category for Vulnerability, or overall COVID-19 risk. Where that might sound impressive, High is the third of five risk levels – the state had been in “Severe”, the highest level, much of September, and trended through “Very High” before settling into High this week.
This metric takes into account daily new cases per 100,000 of population, infection rate, positive test rate and percentage of those vaccinated.
Localized, of Florida’s 67 counties, 40 are still in the Very High category. Osceola is one of 22 in the High category. There are four counties in the Medium category (Seminole is closest) and one, St. Johns, which includes areas like St. Augustine, is in the Low category.
Osceola’s metrics Monday were 19.8 cases per 100k (11th out of 67 counties), a 7.9 percent positivity rate (24th), 73.5 percent of ages 12 and up receiving at least one vaccine dose (fifth, and the leader in Central Florida), and 66 percent (two out of three) had a complete vaccine series.
But with all that, there is still this local guidance from the CDC: “Everyone in Osceola County, Florida should wear a mask in public, indoor settings … masks are now recommended for vaccinated individuals in public indoor spaces to reduce the spread of the Delta variant. Unvaccinated people should continue to mask in all public spaces.
At the last School Board meeting Oct. 5, Superintendent Debra Pace announced that, for the third time since the school year started, the number of Osceola County COVID-19 cases among school-aged children (5-17) declined, down to 165, with no new children’s hospitalizations.
During the week of Sept. 27, 318 students were in quarantine. On Aug. 30, that figure was 3,471. The number of staff in quarantine dropped from 91 to 35 in that time.
Pace showed at Tuesday’s meeting that the District tested 2,148 staffers and students who consented in the first week of October, with 18 positive cases, or a 0.837 percent positivity rate.
The district still urges practicing social distance when practical, limiting sharing of materials and encouraging frequent hand washing and use of hand sanitizer.
While the district will announce its official enrollment figures later this month, Pace reported 74,631 students enrolled as Osceola County School District students, including 53,781 in district-managed schools (up 2,234 from last year) and 16,906 in Charter schools (up 1,447).
