Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 7-31-20

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EPG Chair Upset About School District’s Move To Open Schools
He fears the number of personnel who will be compromised.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
When the Emergency Pol- icy Group (EPG) met on Mon- day, July 27, 2020, the group’s chairman, Lesley “Les” Miller, Jr., was quite upset.
“I’m just frustrated that these teachers and children have to return to the classroom when we have the numbers that place our state as an epi- demic center,” he said.
“I’m very concerned about the School District, the gover- nor, who’s pushing for the kids to go back to the classroom; and the president, who is threatening to take funding from the schools,” he added.
Commissioner Miller
CHAIRMAN LES MILLER
said his concern is with so many whose lives will be com- promised. “They can’t afford to stay home,” he said of the per- sonnel, including some mem- bers of his own family who have compromised immune systems.
Miller said School Board Chair Melissa Snively gave an update on going back to
school. But he wanted to know how will the District handle so- cial distancing the kids in the classroom, on the bus. He wanted to know if “the teachers could wear scrubs that they provide – they can’t;” and he asked if they could “provide their own plastic shields – they can’t.”
Residents Must Continue To Wear Facial Coverings Hillsborough County plan- ners voted on Monday, July 27,
2020, to extend the county- wide mandatory mask order. As positive COVID-19 numbers rise, the EPG voted to extend the mask order for another seven days. It was originally put into action on June 24th. The Group revisits the man- date every seven days.
The group continues to meet every Monday and Thurs- day.
2 More HART Personnel Tests Positive
HART announced Friday, July 24, 2020, that it has re- ceived confirmation that a bus operator and a streetcar mo- torperson are among the latest employees to test positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19).
This brings the total number of cases of HART em- ployees testing positive for the coronavirus to 46 – in- cluding 19 bus operators, 5 van operators, 2 streetcar mo-
torpersons, and 20 other em- ployees.
The streetcar motorper- son last worked June 21, 2020.
The bus operator’s last days and routes worked are:
• Route 12 (22nd Street) – July 17, 2020
• Route 16 (Waters Ave.) – July 18, 2020
• Route 39 (Busch Blvd.) – July 18, 2020
FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 5-A