Mark Bergin
Democratic senators delivered a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office on Thursday, expressing their concerns about the Governor’s plans to protect Floridians from the threat of coronavirus.
Sens. Audrey Gibson and Lori Berman wrote several questions to DeSantis, who spoke Thursday morning about the state’s plans amid the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.
“With many details left out of the press conference you held this morning, we would like to ascertain what specific plans are being made in our state,” the state Senators wrote.
DeSantis and Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Florida. However, the two wouldn’t say how many people in Florida have been tested for the disease, how many people are self-isolating in case they show symptoms and where in the state those people are located.
Gibson and Beriman have requested a meeting with DeSantis and wanted him to answer the following questions:
— What is the Department of Health’s plan to mitigate the spread of coronavirus should a case be confirmed in Florida?
— What is the Department of Health doing to prepare and protect hospitals, hospital workers, and all health care workers?
— Are there different protocols for longterm care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities? Are staff and visitor screening protocols currently under consideration given that the elderly and immune-compromised are especially vulnerable to the disease?
— Will the Department of Health be providing face masks to the public? Is there a stockpile of face masks? Will basic surgical masks protect from COVID-19? If not, does the Department of Health suggest the public wear N95 Respirators designed to control exposure to the infection? And if so, will the agency be in a position to supply them given that many typical suppliers are already sold out or have drastically raised their prices?
— Has the Department of Health been communicating with local health departments to coordinate a plan to contain the virus? Do those plans include quarantines, and if so, how are they expected to be executed?
— Will the Department of Health coordinate with school districts, higher education institutions and community centers to create emergency plans?
— Does the Department of Health have adequate staff and resources to control an outbreak? Are there stockpiles of medical supplies?
— Who pays for and produces the test kits and are there adequate resources to acquire them? Will Florida be able to test on its own without the CDC? How soon will the results of the test kits be available?
— Does the Department of Health anticipate it will communicate to the public what provisions might be necessary for individuals to prepare for an outbreak?
— What is the procedure for health care workers to report suspected cases of COVID-19?
— We understand that the Division of Emergency Management is in a support-role right now. What type of support are they offering the Department of Health at this time? Do you anticipate that the Division of Emergency Management will play a larger role, and if so, what additional responsibilities might they assume? Are they trained and equipped to deal with disease outbreaks such as COVID-19?
“The public ought to know the answers to these questions and more regarding #coronavirus/#COVID19,” Berman tweeted Thursday afternoon. “In Florida, we value the freedom of information and transparency, particularly in the face of a global outbreak.”
The public ought to know the answers to these questions and more regarding #coronavirus/#COVID19.
In Florida, we value the freedom of information and transparency, particularly in the face of a global outbreak. https://t.co/nBl1Z3BcIY
— Senator Lori Berman (@loriberman) February 27, 2020
During Thursday morning’s news conference, DeSantis said state law prevents him from giving the public more information.
“I actually wanted to give all the numbers, but they pointed me to the regulation and the statute that said you can’t list all the numbers,” DeSantis said. “Rivkees and their team have looked at it and they’ve said that that’s the way to go.”
Rivkees clarified his interpretation of the law. For the state to share such information, he said the virus must be considered “highly infectious” and there must be a risk of spread. He said because there are no current cases in Florida, coronavirus is only considered “moderately infectious” and there is a small risk of it spreading without anyone already being sick.
Democratic Sens. Jose Javier Rodriguez and Victor Torres say that interpretation of the statue is wrong. They plan to introduce an amendment to the Department of Health legislative package to clarify the statue if the state does not release the data before the end of the week.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy also issued a statement after DeSantis’ news conference, claiming there is lack of transparency.
“I was disappointed that at today’s briefing state officials failed to be forthcoming with the public about suspected cases in Florida,” Murphy said. “As a top tourist destination and home to many vulnerable seniors, Florida is uniquely at risk from the threat of this illness.”
Worldwide, there are more than 82,00 confirmed cases of coronavirus, which is also known as COVID-19. More than 2,810 people have died, including more than 2,600 in China.
There are 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. as of Thursday afternoon.
