GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A series of digital charts compiled on the Alachua County Public Schools website provides the number of the reported active COVID-19 cases among students and staff at each school in the district.
“Active cases are defined as those reported within the previous two weeks, which is the incubation period for the virus,” the page said. “These numbers reflect all cases reported among students and staff at school and worksites who are attending school or working in person.”
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The information on the page is updated daily, according to the district.
The page also includes a chart labeled ‘District Totals,” a running total of all cases of the virus that have been reported since Aug. 17.
The charts don’t disclose information about the specific cases or individuals involved, but they do color-code the cases blue when the patient involved is a student and red if the patient involved is a staff member.
The dashboard notes that the cases listed on it did not necessarily involve patients who contracted the virus on a school campus.
“It is important to note that these numbers are not an indication that the cases were contracted or are in any way connected with the school or worksite,” the page says.
The Duval County Public Schools district planned to publish a similar COVID-19 dashboard in August with school-level information but was blocked by the Florida Health Department in Duval County, citing federal privacy laws.
The DCPS district, on the advice of the city’s attorneys, is now seeking permission from the Florida Department of Health on the state level to release the data.