TAMPA, Fla — Just over one week into the school year, Hillsborough County School Board is reporting that 10,384 students and 338 staff members are in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19.
That's about 1,600 more students than what the school board announced on Tuesday.
According to the school district, as of Wednesday, 10,384 out of 213,491 students are currently quarantined or in isolation. Some 338 out of 23,596 employees are also either in isolation or quarantine.
"Isolation refers to individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 while quarantine refers to those who have had close contact with a positive case," the school district wrote in a news release on Monday.
The rise in isolations and quarantines led the school board to hold an emergency meeting Wednesday, where leaders are set to discuss topics like ways to best mitigate against the spread of COVID-19 and whether face coverings for all students and staff will be required.
The school board attempted to mitigate the impact COVID may have on the school year by defying an executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and announcing a mask policy for students. However, the policy gives parents the option to opt their child out.
To opt out, parents must fill out an online form for each student.
Of the roughly 194,000 Hillsborough County Schools students, 27,559 students have been opted out of the mask mandate by their parents as of Aug. 11, district spokesperson Erin Maloney said.