Mayor Curry: No school closures planned amid COVID-19 pandemic

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Local officials continue monitoring the spread of Coronavirus after officials confirm the first cases in Duval and Clay County. Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry says more decisions are expected Friday.

“At this point, we are not mandating events to be shut down. That day may come, but events with 500 or more people where people are in close proximity, I encourage event organizers to cancel the events,” Curry told News4Jax. “And if they don’t, I would encourage people not to attend those events. I will not attend events with that many people in close proximity.”

Thursday night, the Florida Department of Health announced an additional 15 cases in Florida, including one case that involved a man in Duval County. Curry on Twitter said he first learned about it from the news and that his team did not.

Curry recommends that residents should stop shaking hands. He also echoed widely shared Health Department recommendations like washing hands frequently, staying home while sick, and refraining from touching your face.

Curry announced city employees have been advised to limit non-essential travel, especially to countries like South Korea, China, Iran and most of Europe and anyone who goes on their own would need to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Curry also said the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department had made changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which included adding screening questions at the 911 call center to better identify potential cases and issuing additional protective equipment to first responders who might come in contact with potential patients. He also said the city is working with homeless centers in order to craft a plan to protect at-risk groups.

“These are good steps and the right steps to take, but it’s going to take more than that to stop this virus. It’s going to take changes in our personal behavior from all of us to reduce and prevent the spread,” Curry said.

What Curry didn’t do, however, was announce any major city or school closures or event cancellations.

“At this moment in time, schools will go back as scheduled but that could change,” Curry said. “As the Health Department shares information with me, I will share it with you.”

Duval County Public Schools said Thursday night that it plans to continue normal operations beginning Monday. The school district said it had also disinfected and sanitized all schools and school buses, among other measures.

The mayor said he and his staff will evaluate upcoming events and make decisions in the coming days.

Curry confirmed that a Brazilian delegation that included President Jair Bolsonaro visited Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer’s plant on Jacksonville’s Northside earlier this week. Since Bolsonaro’s communications director, Fábio Wajngarten, who tested positive for coronavirus after returning to Brazil and was part of that delegation, health officials have spoken with the people in the hangar who came in contact with him.

President Donald Trump, who met the delegation at Mar-a-Lago and posed for a photo next to Wajngarten, has not been tested. Sen. Rick Scott, who also met with Wajngarten, was told he did not need to be tested, but announced Thursday he was going to voluntarily self-quarantine for 14 days.

Curry also provided an update on the four members of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department who attended a recent Emergency Medical Service conference in Tampa linked to one coronavirus patient. He said they have been cleared to return to duty on Friday.

Mayor Curry answers coronavirus questions on News4Jax at 5