Want schools and businesses to reopen? Time to ‘Mask Up Manatee,’ leaders say

In a last-ditch effort to slow COVID-19 infections and safely reopen schools on Aug. 17, local leaders have announced the Mask Up Manatee Coalition.

The idea started with a call between local officials last month, when infections surged in the county. A Manatee High School custodian has since died from COVID-19 complications, and on Monday afternoon, the first day of work for teachers, several employees at Samoset Elementary were sent home when a coworker tested positive for the disease.

Cynthia Saunders, the superintendent for Manatee County schools, was on the call last month. She was joined by Dr. Jennifer Bencie, head of the county health department; Cheri Coryea, the county administrator; and other local officials.

“We knew if we didn’t do something collectively, we were going to have a very difficult time sustaining our school opening,” Saunders said during a news conference on Wednesday.

Mask Up Manatee will start as an educational campaign. Absent a vaccine, the only option was to use the same safety measures that were broadcast throughout the world over the last several months.

The recommendations — face coverings, social distancing and hand-washing — were nothing new. However, Saunders said, the coalition was hoping to push those measures and inspire unity in Manatee County.

All of their planning would go to waste if COVID-19 infections continued to climb, infiltrating schools and forcing a shutdown shortly after they reopen, said school board member Scott Hopes.

With more than 400,000 residents in Manatee County and less than two weeks before the start of school, inspiring buy-in from the community was a massive undertaking.

“A majority of the parents in Manatee County have made it clear: They want our schools to be open,” Hopes said. “In order for us to maintain our open schools, it takes the entire community to come together.”

Bencie, head of the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County, said that COVID-19 was often spread “under the radar” by asymptomatic people, making it a highly contagious disease.

“You can have it and not cough or sneeze or develop a fever,” Bencie said.

“Those who are asymptomatic can pass the disease to anyone they come in contact with face to face: moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents, friends, teachers, clients, customers — all without even knowing it,” she said.

The consequence was more COVID-19 infections and deaths. In its daily update on Wednesday, the state health department said a Manatee County resident was among the 225 new deaths in Florida.

In total, there were nearly 9,000 local cases and 188 local deaths, along with more than half a million cases throughout the state.

As of Wednesday, the best way to prevent infections was still to practice social distancing, hand-washing and the use of face coverings, Bencie said. She also recommended that people clean high-touch surfaces, such as doorknobs and countertops, with a disinfectant.

“Each and every one of us has a vital role to play in stopping the spread of this disease throughout our community,” she said.

Led by the county government, the county health department and the school district, Mask Up Manatee includes more than a dozen nonprofits, businesses and healthcare agencies.

The short-term goal was to safely reopen schools, but halting COVID-19 would benefit the entire community, said Coryea, the county administrator.

“I do truly believe this united effort, over time, will help flatten the curve and ultimately sweep this disease from our community,” she said.

The coalition will rely heavily on social media to spread its message, Coryea said, previewing the graphics that would soon circulate online. “Be a Hero,” one read. “Wear a Face Mask and the Spread Stops with You.”

The county and the school district also planned to have the coalition logo — a manatee wearing a surgical mask — placed on several vehicles, using them to pass out free masks.

“When the face coverings arrive later this month, we’ll distribute them in some of our hardest-hit ZIP Codes,” Coryea said.

Tarnisha Cliatt joined Wednesday’s news conference as president of the Manasota Black Chamber of Commerce. She said the coalition would serve local businesses and residents by informing them of grants, food drives, job opportunities and other important information.

The coalition was also hoping to expand. Cliatt said interested businesses and organizations could learn more by emailing maskupmanatee@gmail.com.

“Now it’s time when we all unite under the Mask Up Manatee Coalition,” she said, “to spread a community message of resilience and of recovery.”

This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 4:16 PM.