Miami Schools May Open Sooner Than Expected In Broward, Miami-Dade

Superintendents for public schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties said on Tuesday that they could be reopening school buildings sooner than they originally thought.

The decision comes after a reduction trend in positive COVID-19 cases in the counties. The Florida Department of Health shows that both districts have fewer positive test results than before. Miami shows seven days of a positivity rate of less than 10% and Broward county has had two full weeks of positive test rates below 10%.

Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade superintendent, told the Miami-Herald, "We are very confident we are going to be able to move that deadline up sometime to the middle of September at the latest."

Superintendent Rubert Runcie of Broward county said that the timing of reopening will be determined by a positivity rate of 3% to 5% for 14 consecutive days.

"If current trends continue on the path of improvement, we could open sometime this fall," said Runcie. "Again, I can't guarantee or commit to any specific date as the path of the virus will drive the decisions we have to make."

Miami-Dade students will start online school on August 31st. Broward students began on August 19th.

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