Florida’s Governor Continues with State’s Reopening as COVID Deaths Soar

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on September 27, 2020

As the number of COVID-19 cases steadily progresses in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has made the executive decision to implement his plans this week to shift the state into its next phase of reopening, which will allow bars and restaurants to operate at full capacity with minimal social distancing guidelines or restrictions in place. This announcement comes on the heels of the Florida Health Department’s report which details 1,882 new, positive tests as of last week, bringing the state’s total to a staggering 700,564 positive test results for the novel coronavirus since the pandemic began back in March.

According to a press release given by Governor DeSantis on Thursday, September 24^th, 2020, he does not believe that the closure of restaurants has done much to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and is even going so far as to place bans on local governments so they do not override his decision.

“I don’t think the closure of restaurants has proven to be effective. I get at how you could potentially have spread there, but I also have to look at that. They’ve been able to use outdoors, but we can’t have these businesses dying, so they’re not going to be able to be closed by locals anymore and they will to be able (sic) to operate at the capacity that they’re comfortable with. So that’s going to happen,” he said.

The governor also recently met with a panel of medical personnel and scientists to further discuss the additional issues that are plaguing his state in the ongoing battle against the novel coronavirus. Many of the experts noted that they should be shifting their attention to Florida’s elderly population who are the most susceptible to this deadly disease. However, as of Sunday, September 13^th, 2020, assisted-living facilities throughout Florida are no longer required to test their workers every 2 weeks for COVID-19 due to the expiration of emergency mandates implemented in June from the Agency for Health Care Administration. It is unclear at this time if any additional safety measures will be put into place, although under federal guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, nursing home and long-term care facility staff members will still be tested, just not with the same frequency as before.

Sources:

• Florida surpasses 700K cases after health officials report 1,882 new cases of COVID-19
• DeSantis says he will lift restaurant limits, ban local governments from future restrictions
• Assisted-living facilities in Florida no longer have to test staff for the coronavirus

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.