Hundreds of Palm Beach County students already in COVID quarantine after just two days

On Thursday, the South Florida Sun-Sentinelreported that hundreds of students at Palm Beach County public schools are now in quarantine for COVID-19 — just two days after the schools opened for the year.

"Interim School District Superintendent Michael Burke said on MSNBC on Thursday afternoon that in addition to the 440 in quarantine, 5,700 of the district's estimated 179,000 students have opted out of the school district's mask mandate. Palm Beach County is home to the 10th largest school district in the U.S.," reported Austen Erblat. "Burke called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to look at current policies and make changes in the interest of students. 'The governor's got to take responsibility for establishing the ground rules we're operating under.'"

According to the report, five employees of the district have also tested positive for COVID-19.

DeSantis, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, has come under renewed national scrutiny as Florida becomes the epicenter of the pandemic — a combination of the state's low vaccination rate and the governor's efforts to block local health restrictions.