MIAMI-DADE – Today (May 19), the Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution sponsored by Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava calling on the Governor to require frequent testing of all healthcare personnel working in nursing homes and Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs), and to ensure testing of nursing home residents for coronavirus. The resolution also urged the State to ensure that employees of nursing homes were provided paid sick leave and that staff were supplied with protective masks and other “personal protective equipment” to prevent spread of disease into nursing homes and ALFs.
Commissioner Levine Cava said, “I wish the Governor and his administration spent the same energy fighting to stop the disease from getting into our nursing homes as he has in fighting to stop information from getting out. We know that nursing homes and assisted living facilities are especially susceptible to outbreaks of COVID-19 and more aggressive action is not only welcome, it is long overdue.
“We need to see ongoing, regular testing of all nursing home and ALF workers and proper isolation of staff and patients exposed to the virus. Above all, we need more clear data on infections and hospitalizations, including a concise plan on how these facilities will prevent the spread of this virus as the impacts are deadly for our most fragile residents. Our elders deserve respect and care from the agencies responsible for their welfare.”
