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Dear Friend,
I’m continuing to work closely with federal, state and local officials during this pandemic to monitor and fight the coronavirus in our community. As many of you know, there’s a lot of new information about the coronavirus in our area, including mask orders, back-to-school plans for the upcoming school year and progress towards a COVID-19 vaccine. Here are the latest updates:
REOPENING FLORIDA SCHOOLS: Many of our schools have announced updated back-to-school plans, including decisions to postpone the first day of school. To ensure you are up to date and aware of all of your options, I’ve compiled information from each county below:
- Volusia County Schools have pushed back this year’s school start date to August 31, teachers are scheduled to return August 11
- Volusia County reopening proposal:
- All students and staff must go through temperature checks before entering schools
- Desks and workstations will be three and six feet apart
- Rooms will be disinfected between each class
- Back-to-school update: New virtual learning option is now available for students to stream their classes as they happen from home
- Flagler County Schools will vote on a start date next week
- Back-to-school update: Flagler County is now offering a remote learning option to give parents and children the ability to continue education virtually by streaming classes from home
- St. Johns County Schools have pushed back this year’s school start date to August 31
- Students and parents were given the ability to select one of the four options proposed for the upcoming semester
- If an option was not selected by the deadline, students are automatically selected to attend traditional brick-and-mortar school
- Lake County Schools have pushed back this year’s school start date to August 24
- Back-to-school update: Parents have until today, July 29 to choose how they prefer their children to return to school
- Option 1: Traditional school (Only in person)
- Option 2: Virtual school (Only online)
- Option 3: Modified Day (Math and language arts in person and the rest online)
- Option 4: Lake Live (Structured virtual learning mirroring the traditional daily school schedule)
- Click here to select one of these four options
HELPING HOMEOWNERS AND RENTERS: Coronavirus has been tough for many homeowners and renters struggling to pay their bills. This week, the Volusia County Council announced another $50 million in aid from the CARES Act will now be available to members of our community. Thank you to the Volusia County Council for helping our neighbors during this trying time. Together, we can weather this storm.
MANDATORY MASKS: Many retailers in our community and around the country are now requiring masks to be worn while shopping. Below is a list of stores that are currently requiring masks. For a complete list, click here.
OPERATION WARP SPEED: The U.S. is making great progress towards a COVID-19 vaccine. Right now, the federal government is investing in Operation Warp Speed (OPS), a strategy to accelerate and incentivize the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics by private companies. OPS aims to deliver roughly 30 million doses of safe, effective vaccines for COVID-19 by January 2021.
Vice President Mike Pence will be traveling to Miami next week to participate in the University of Miami roundtable with researchers about the beginning of the Phase III trials and to discuss the incredible progress researchers and developers have made so far. It’s truly astounding how quickly our private sector has been able to work and it’s only a matter of time before American ingenuity brings us a COVID-19 vaccine. I will be sure to keep you all updated on the developments of this vaccine as they happen.
For more information about the coronavirus in Florida, visit my website here.
As always, follow my daily work on social media by liking my Facebook page and following me on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram and feel free to reach out to my offices in Florida or Washington, D.C. if my team or I can ever be of service.
In Service,
Michael Waltz
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