Osceola County Status Update for Response to COVID-19
Published on March 13, 2020
PR20-14
Osceola County, Florida – Officials with Osceola County and the cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud are continuing to work with local, state and federal agencies to monitor the status of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the impact on our community.
Although at this time there are no confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Osceola County, officials understand this is a fluid situation that will likely change.
Officials still urge our residents and visitors to be diligent in practicing personal protective measures as recommended by the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including avoiding close contact with people who are sick or self-isolating when you are sick; washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe; and other best practices to avoid the spread of germs.
Additionally, individuals at risk of severe illness (including older adults and persons of any age with underlying health conditions) should stay at home as much as possible, avoiding both cruise and non-essential air travel as well as gatherings or other situations of potential exposures, including church attendance and social events with 10 or more people.
Osceola County and the cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud will apply mitigation strategies for Florida issued by the CDC and will postpone or cancel all events and other gatherings of more than 250 people at all facilities controlled by Osceola County, Kissimmee and St. Cloud, from today until March 31, 2020.
County officials will continue to work with our local tourism authority to ensure that guidance and best-practices are available to our partners in order to lessen the impact of this pandemic.
Commission and Council meetings will continue to be held as scheduled. Each governing body will evaluate the upcoming agendas and any changes will be communicated.
Facilities maintained by Osceola County and the cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud will have enhanced sanitization practices, including increased disinfection of hard surfaces. These facilities include our administration offices, community centers, libraries and other government buildings.
Beginning at 5 p.m. today, March 13, the Osceola County Corrections Department is suspending all in-house inmate visitation to limit the number of visitors to the Jail’s lobby and minimize the potential risk to the community, staff, and the inmate population. Remote video visitation will still be available for families and friends to communicate with inmates. The standard fees for this service will be suspended during this time and provided at no cost. This type of visitation is similar to Skype and visits can be conducted on personal computers or Android phones, and more information on the service is available online at http://www.icsolutions.com/FriendsFamilyHome/ProductsServices/VideoVisitation.php. As an additional means of communication, inmates will still have access to telephones and mail. The suspension of in-house visitation will be reevaluated on April 13, 2020.
The Osceola County Supervisor of Elections recommends checking the website VoteOsceola.com for any changes to polling locations. Currently, any voter who is in Precinct 106 (Good Samaritan) and is not a resident of the Good Samaritan community will temporarily have their polling location changed to Pleasant Hill Elementary School. This change will only apply to this election. All Good Samaritan residents will still vote at their normal polling location inside of Good Samaritan.
All Osceola County public schools will be on Spring Break from March 13 – March 20, 2020. While students and staff are away from schools, the district will use this time to further clean and disinfect hard surfaces. At this time, no decisions have been made to close schools after Spring Break as the threat of Coronavirus remains low for young people, and there are no confirmed cases in Osceola County. The Osceola School District will follow the latest recommendations from the Florida Department of Education and CDC:
- Students or district employees who go on foreign travel, to any country, must self-isolate for 14 days upon return until further notice.
- Students or district employees who go on a cruise, anywhere, must self-isolate for 14 days upon return until further notice.
- There will be no school or district special events or activities involving more than 250 people until further notice.
Parents, students, and staff are encouraged to regularly check the district’s website and social media for updates. Important information will also be shared through Remind text messages and the district’s telephone call-out system.
Officials reiterate that FDOH serves as the lead agency during this event and all of our government bodies are ready to take swift action to support and implement the guidance and protocols issued by health officials as they become necessary. Resources are available from FDOH online at FloridaHealth.Gov, and they also offer a 24-hour call center at 1 (866) 779-6121.
The Florida Attorney General has activated the price gouging hotline for anyone to report coronavirus-related price gouging. Incidents of price gouging should be reported at 1-866-9NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226) or online at visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.
To assist Osceola County residents regarding concerns about the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Osceola County has created a new webpage, Osceola.org/covid19, which includes local updates in addition to resources and updates from the CDC and FDOH.
The City of Kissimmee has also created a new webpage at Kissimmee.org/coronavirus to provide local updates.
Updates from the City of St. Cloud can be found at StCloud.org.
For more information, citizens are encouraged to visit the Osceola County website at Osceola.org, or its Facebook page at Facebook.com/osceolacountyfl.
Información Actualizada del Condado Osceola en Respuesta a COVID-19
Condado Osceola, Florida – Oficiales del Condado Osceola, la Ciudad de Kissimmee y la Ciudad de St. Cloud continúan trabajando con agencias locales, estatales y federales para monitorear el estatus de Coronavirus (COVID-19) y el impacto en nuestra comunidad.
Aunque no hay casos confirmados de Coronavirus en el Condado Osceola, entendemos que esto es una situación cambiante.
Oficiales recomiendan que los residentes y visitantes sean diligentes en sus medidas de limpieza como ha recomendado el Departamento de Salud de la Florida (conocido por sus siglas en inglés FDOH) y los Centros de Control de Enfermedades y Prevención (CDC), incluyendo evitar el contacto con personas que estén enfermas o se hayan aislados porque están enfermos, lavarse las manos con frecuencia con jabón y agua por al menos 20 segundos, limpiar y desinfectar objetos que h