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Governor's Office Asks Colleges To Report COVID-19 Infections

State college presidents will need to send coronavirus case updates to Gov. Ron DeSantis' office.
State college presidents will need to send coronavirus case updates to Gov. Ron DeSantis' office.

Florida’s community and state colleges will now have to send coronavirus case updates to Gov. Ron DeSantis' office. The change came down at Friday’s meeting of the college presidents.

Indian River State College President Ed Massey said he doesn’t have the time to send detailed, daily infection and quarantine information to the governor.

Massey said employees are overwhelmed with trying to deal with student enrollment and retention, along with getting them to comply with campus safety rules. And Tallahassee Community College President Jim Murdough called the reporting request “extremely cumbersome.”

College system Chancellor Kathy Hebda said other schools are reporting and those reports haven’t been very detailed. There are no names or personal information involved. She said the governor’s request comes as that office is learning of outbreaks at mostly K-12 schools through news reports and not from schools themselves.

Copyright 2020 Health News Florida

Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lynn has served as reporter/producer for WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas. She is an award-winning member of the Capital Press Corps and has participated in the NPR Kaiser Health News Reporting Partnership and NPR Education Initiative. When she’s not working, Lynn spends her time watching sci-fi and action movies, writing her own books, going on long walks through the woods, traveling and exploring antique stores. Follow Lynn Hatter on Twitter: @HatterLynn.
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