Brevard County schools roll out coronavirus plan

VIERA, Fla. - The assistant superintendent of schools in Brevard County says the district's coronavirus plan is ready, but it will only be put into action if there are multiple cases at the same school and the county leaders tell them to shut it down. 

"We would close schools either individually or as a group to try to disperse students and staff as part of the response to keep them from infecting one another," says Matt Reed.

Coronavirus spreads through respiratory droplets and by touching contaminated surfaces. Brevard County has 72,000 students in 82 schools, 20 Special Centers, and 10 Charter Schools. Right now, there are no known cases of coronavirus, or COVID-19, in Brevard County, but officials say they are prepared with a pandemic plan.

For now, the district is directing any student, teacher or staff member who has a fever to stay home and not return until they are totally fever-free without the help of medicine for 24 hours. However, if the county emergency operations center tells the district, a particular location is linked to multiple cases, the closure could be imposed quickly.

"We are working very hard right now to try to figure out how do we teach kids? if they’re out for anywhere between two to 8 weeks during a response," Reed adds.

Reed says online classes are a possibility, but he’s concerned an online system could be overwhelmed by big numbers. He says another issue that school officials are trying to get ahead of is the business and operations side.

Read says meetings are happening through this evening to come up with solutions for that. He says the Brevard Public Schools Facebook page and robocalls will be how information is sent out.