CDC coronavirus advice to FL: Cancel events of 250+ people, extend school spring break

Florida should cancel all gatherings of 250 people or more and schools should consider extending spring break, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in a state-specific guidance about the coronavirus Thursday night.

Community and faith-based organizations should also consider screening people at gatherings smaller than 250 people, the CDC said. Smaller gatherings that may bring persons together from multiple parts of the country should be canceled.

Those guidelines are the clearest instructions yet about avoiding “mass gatherings” in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, known as COVID-19.

Earlier Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended avoiding all mass gatherings, but his office never clearly defined the term “mass gatherings”, leading to confusion about whether it applied to schools and other daily activities. The announcement prompted a number of organizations and sports leagues to cancel their events.

The CDC does not recommend schools close. It does recommend schools extend spring break, although it doesn’t say for how long. The guidance largely leaves coronavirus responses up to local school districts.

Theme parks, however, should limit the number of visitors and screen staff for fevers and respiratory illnesses, the CDC memo states. On Thursday night, Orlando’s Walt Disney World, the most-visited tourist destination in the world, announced it was closing at the end of business on Sunday.

Limiting large gatherings is particularly important because of Florida’s large population of older adults, who are particularly susceptible to the coronavirus, the CDC memo states.

The flu-like illness has a morbidity rate 20 to 40 times higher than the seasonal flu in older populations and among people with underlying health issues, Florida’s surgeon general said this week.

DeSantis’ Thursday announcement was yet another muddled message from his office and federal officials about coronavirus response.

Earlier this week, the Florida Department of Health issued erroneous instructions stating that all international travelers should isolate themselves. News media, including the Times/Herald, wrote stories about the notice. The department later clarified that only travelers from countries where coronavirus is widespread, such as Italy and China, should self-isolate.

DeSantis also this week contradicted a statement from a top federal official who identified Florida as one of four states with “community spread” of the coronavirus, meaning the state had multiple cases of coronavirus from unknown origin in an area. DeSantis later stated that Florida did not have “community spread.”

DeSantis’ Thursday announcement stood in contrast to recent notices from the governors of California, Washington and New York, who all issued written instructions defining a mass gathering.

DeSantis’ instructions that communities postpone mass gatherings for 30 days came during a news conference in Miami, and his office did not issue any written orders with further instructions.

Further adding to the confusion, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said at the same news conference that the guidance he received was for any gathering of more than 250 people.

When asked for clarification, DeSantis’ spokeswoman, Helen Ferré Aguirre, pointed to an older CDC guideline stating that a mass gathering was between 1,000 and 25,000 people. She also cited the CDC definition as “any gathering that would strain local resources.”

When asked whether the directive applied to theme parks, Ferré did not answer.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 12:23 PM with the headline "CDC coronavirus advice to FL: Cancel events of 250+ people, extend school spring break."