Florida health directors reportedly told not to say whether schools should reopen

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference relating hurricane season updates at the Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center on June 8, 2020 in Miami, Florida.
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County health directors in Florida have reportedly been told not to provide a recommendation about whether schools should reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.

Florida state officials "instructed county directors to focus their advice to school boards on how best to reopen," but the health directors have been told "not to make a recommendation" about whether to actually reopen at all, The Palm Beach Post reports. This is despite the fact that an edict from Florida Education Commission Richard Corcoran instructed schools seeking to not reopen to receive a wavier from health officials.

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Former health directors told the Palm Beach Post this is unusual, as they typically would provide the schools with such advice.

"Yes, we always advise them what to do," said Dr. Claude Dharamraj, former health director for Pinellas County. "Schools are educators; they are not health experts. They have nowhere else to turn but us.”

Health directors still recommended classes stay online in certain counties, but other school boards have made the decision to reopen "despite serious misgivings" after not receiving advice from the local officials on whether to do so, according to the report. Read more at the Palm Beach Post.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.