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COVID-19 live updates: Judge rules Florida governor stop banning mask mandates in schools
Ten Florida school districts have adopted mask mandates for students this month.
The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 634,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 60.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Rev. Jesse Jackson 'responding' to COVID treatment
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, who is in the hospital with COVID-19, is responding positively to treatment, his son told ABC Chicago station WLS.
The 79-year-old, who has Parkinson’s disease, was vaccinated for COVID-19 in January, WLS reported.
His wife, Jacqueline, 77, is also in the hospital with COVID-19 and is resting comfortably, their son, Jonathan Jackson, said.
“She is having some oxygen but is able to function and breathe on her own without a respirator,” he told WLS.
Judge rules Florida governor stop banning mask mandates in schools
A Tallahassee judge ruled Friday that Florida school boards can enact student mask mandates, going against Gov. Ron DeSantis, who in July issued an executive order that set off a public feud with school districts.
Judge John C. Cooper found that a blanket ban on face masks in schools "does not meet constitutional muster" and ordered the Florida Department of Education to stop enforcing a state rule that requires districts to allow parents to opt-out of mask mandates.
Cooper, over about two hours, picked apart the state's defense, saying the science presented during the weeklong trial did not support the state's argument against masking children.
Ten Florida school districts have adopted mask mandates for students this month. Two -- Broward and Alachua -- were sanctioned by the Florida commissioner of education, who said he would begin withholding the salaries of board members who voted to require masks.
DeSantis will "immediately appeal" the ruling, the governor's press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said in a statement. "This ruling was made with incoherent justifications, not based in science and facts," Pushaw said.
A spokesman for the Florida Department of Education said, "We are immensely disappointed that the ruling issued today by the Second Judicial Circuit discards the rule of law. This decision conflicts with basic and established rights of parents to make private health care and education decisions for children. ... We are committed to the fundamental rights of parents and will push forward on appeal to ensure that this foundation of democracy is upheld."
-ABC News' Will McDuffie