From David Volz
The Florida Board of Education is promising severe penalties for the Broward County School district because it has a mask mandate for students. The board voted unanimously to consider penalties including loss of money, the removal of School Board members, more accountability, more investigations and a public records request.
The Broward district could lose as much as $690,000. This is the amount of the salaries of the superintendent and nine School Board members. Commissioner Richard Corcoran told the board the Broward violated state rules that have as much authority as laws when it mandated that children wear mask without allowing parents to allow their children to not wear them. He said that districts have to follow the law whether they agree with it or not.
Broward School Board Chairwoman Rosalind Osgood said that schools will open on Wednesday with the mask mandate in effect.
Pompano Beach to delay mandate for city employees to get vaccines or weekly tests
The health care mandate requiring all City of Pompano Beach workers to provide proof of vaccination or submit weekly proof of a negative COVID-19 test that was to go into effect on August 16th has been temporarily delayed.
“While City officials had hoped to institute the policy by August 16th, due to logistics issues that are out of our control, we are reevaluating the manner in which the testing will be conducted. There has been a recent surge in demand for testing, and we are exploring options to make testing more readily available and easier,” said Sandra King, spokesperson for Pompano Beach.
The new effective date will be provided to employees with enough advanced notice for employees to get tested before the policy is implemented. The purpose of the policy is to maintain a safe workplace by minimizing the community transmission of COVID-19 among employees, visitors and the population at large by mandating employee screening.
“This will enable the City to ensure that municipal services are continuously provided to its residents and create an environment that allows employees a safe workplace. The procedures have been established in accordance with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, Health and Human Services standards, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance, best practices adopted from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, State directives and local laws, rules and orders, and are based on the City Manager’s assessment of local conditions upon review of the local public health system and healthcare systems data,” said King.
Coral Springs opens another COVID-19 testing site
As a result of the increase in demand for COVID-19 testing and to best meet the needs of our residents, the City of Coral Springs has partnered with NOMI Health, a direct healthcare company coordinating COVID response nationwide, to open a walk-up COVID-19 testing site providing PCR and rapid testing effective Thursday, August 19, 2021. The site is located at Tom Messenheimer Special Events Field at the Sportsplex Park (2575 Sportsplex Drive) and is open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“There has been a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases, which has led to greater demand for testing,” said Alexander Falcone, Director of Emergency Management. He added, “The closest Broward County testing site at Tradewinds Park reports seeing up to 700 persons daily, resulting in longer wait times. As students head back to school, we recognize parents and residents will need even greater access to testing locally and this partnership with NOMI Health will meet that need.”
“As positive cases and hospitalizations increase across Broward County, Nomi is locking arms with the City of Coral Springs to ensure residents have easy access to testing. It’s a natural extension of our work across the state of Florida, and we’re pleased to support leaders at all levels of government on the front lines of the pandemic,” said Ron Goncalves, General Manager of Florida, Nomi Health.
NOMI Health does bill your insurance provider, however insurance is not required to receive testing.
City of Hollywood facilities are closed to the general public because of COVID-19 increase
Because of the spike in COVID-19 positive cases in South Florida and the elevated risk to public health, all City of Hollywood facilities, including City Hall and Community Centers, will be closed to the general public for indoor activities and recreation effective Monday, August 23, 2021. The closure will remain in effect until further notice.
Outdoor recreation facilities such as Driftwood Community Swimming Pool, Parks, Marina, Sports Fields, Playgrounds, Golf Courses, Tennis and Pickleball Courts, Skate Parks, and the ArtsPark at Young Circle remain open and outdoor events like the ArtsPark Friday Night Movie will continue. The indoor art studios at the ArtsPark Gallery will be closed. All Community Centers will be closed and no inside activities will take place, with the exception of School Aftercare and Barry University Programs.
A number of options remain for members of the public to view and participate in the City Commission and Community Redevelopment Meetings, including an in-person option for those wishing to speak.
