About one in five U.S. coronavirus cases is in Florida, which is reporting a higher per capita infection rate right now than any country in the world. Florida public health officials are warning of skyrocketing levels of virus found in wastewater, indicating high levels of community spread. More than half of Florida counties start school today, even as Florida leads the U.S. in the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19. About one in five young children tested for coronavirus over the last week in Florida had an infection. Even so, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is not only threatening to withhold funds from school districts that impose mask mandates, but is now threatening to withhold the salaries of school officials who require masks.

In Texas, the Dallas Independent School District on Monday ordered everyone on public school grounds to wear masks, defying a ban on mask mandates by Republican Governor Greg Abbott.