Briefs

DOH Administrator Patricia Boswell said the district could start plans to lift the mandate, but that it should keep an eye on vaccination rates.

JARLEENE ALMENAS

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

With some Volusia County School Board members seeking additional data on the protection of masks for children, Volusia County Health Department Administrator Patricia Boswell was definitive in her recommendation: Continue with the mask mandate for now, and keep an eye on vaccination rates.

“I think at this point in time, we have to continue our measures, see what happens with the vaccine, do contingency planning in the interim and be able to go in the direction that best meets the school district’s need,” Boswell said.

Boswell provided the School Board with a COVID-19 update during its workshop on Tuesday, March 30. With no data yet on how spring break will affect COVID-19 numbers in children, and a cumulative total of 3,654 cases in people under 18 as of March 28, Boswell said cases in young people account for 8% of all COVID-19 cases. In comparison, cases involving seniors 75 years and older account for 6% and those between 65 and 74 years old account for 11%.

The 14-day positivity rate is 7.89%, and the seven-day positivity rate has risen to 9.33%. Based on DOH’s COVID-19 tracing, Boswell said they have been able to identify 35 cases that resulted from outbreaks in schools. Four of those involved sports teams.

School Board member Carl Persis said he wasn’t seeking immediate action regarding the district’s mask mandate, but with the vaccine becoming available to all 18 and older starting Monday, April 5, the board could look toward modifying its mandate for summer school.

“We’re getting to the point, with the abundance of vaccine that’s going to be available starting next week,” Persis said. “… what I wanted to do was start the conversation. That’s all.”

Additionally, Persis questioned why fully vaccinated teachers would not be able to teach without a mask inside their classroom, but fully vaccinated grandparents were allowed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hug their grandchildren.

Boswell said she would be concerned about the other students’ behavior outside the classroom.

“We’re not aware of who they’re living with, so if I get infected at school as a student, I take it home to my grandmother who’s my caregiver, and my caregiver dies, that’s a pretty extraordinary event for me,” Boswell said.

“I would think in that case, my caregiver has been fully vaccinated or if my caregiver has not, or cannot, or doesn’t wish to be, I guess that would be the child that would continue to wear the mask,” Persis replied.

School Board Chair Linda Cuthbert, who tuned into the workshop virtually, said the district should continue with its current prevention measures.

“We cannot control the behaviors of the parents and how parents and families interact with one another,” Cuthbert said. “... We really don’t know the dynamics, so in order to protect all of our students, no matter what medical condition they have, I’m a firm believer in the CDC recommendations.

NO PROM?

Haynes asked Boswell for the reasoning against holding proms — with masks — when sporting events were being held.

Boswell said it was a recommendation based on CDC guidance on large gatherings. Haynes mentioned an event by a private company that plans on renting out the arena at the Volusia County Fairgrounds for to hold prom for Volusia students.

Haynes said she would feel safer letting parents and students make the choice on whether to attend a school-hosted prom. Superintendent Scott Fritz said he couldn’t endorse a prom where students will be in close proximity.

West Virginia man in critical condition adfter head-on crash with fire truck

A 51-year-old man from West Virginia is in critical condition after he crashed into a Volusia County Fire Rescue truck on Monday, March 29, in Ormond-by-theSea, causing minor injuries in three firefighters.

Florida Highway Patrol reported that the man, who was driving a Chevy Tahoe, was traveling northbound on Ocean Shore Boulevard in an “aggressive and careless manner, waving in and out of traffic,” according to witnesses, when he collided head-on with Engine 14 near Sandra Drive around 12:10 p.m.

The fire truck then traveled off the roadway and struck a fence. FHP reported that the man was airlifted to Halifax Medical Center and the firefighters checked at the hospital.

According to the Volusia County Professional Firefighters Association Facebook page, despite their injuries, the crew from Engine 14 began extricating the man from his vehicle after the crash.

FHP states the crash remains under investigation.

Photo courtesy of Volusia EMS Union

COPS CORNER

MARCH 16

RECYCLING

11:55 p.m. — First block of South Yonge Street Drugs. Police arrested a 57-yearold man who was found digging in a dumpster behind a local bicycle shop, telling officers he and his friend were looking for parts to repair their own bikes.

The reporting officer spotted two men at the scene, advising them they were on private property. He discovered the man had been trespassed from the same location in February. While under arrest for trespassing, police found marijuana, methamphetamine and fentanyl in the man’s pocket. He was taken to jail.

MARCH 18

DON’T FALL FOR THIS SCAM

5:35 p.m. — 200 block of Cuadro Place Fraud. An 84-year-old Ormond Beach woman was scammed out of about $70,000 by an unknown person who told her she had won a “Home Care Grant.”

The woman told police she was asked to send money through gift cards, bitcoin and cash cards. Each time she was supposed to receive the grant dollars, an “unforeseen” incident would happen, such as it was confiscated by the IRS after the agency stopped the postal service truck.

Both times she was told to send more money, according to the police report. In addition, the person told the woman that the next time her money was sent out, “the truck would be accompanied by guards.”