TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Amid increasing pressure to do so, the state of Florida named nursing homes and assisted living facilities experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19 coronavirus.
Gov. Ron DeSantis during a news conference Saturday announced the state would make the change in how it reports cases to the public. There are currently 1,825 cases in residents or staff at long-term facilities statewide, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Pinellas County has the most long-term care facilities affected by the coronavirus, with 21 facilities named. One facility, in particular, Freedom Square of Seminole, has been dealing with a particularly bad outbreak as three people have died and at least 36 others tested positive for coronavirus.
Eleven facilities in Sarasota County have reported cases, eight in Manatee County, six in Hillsborough County, five in Polk County, two in DeSoto County, two in Pasco County, one in Citrus County and one in Highlands County.
The list does not detail how many people have died or how many cases have been reported at each facility.
Family members concerned for the well-being of their loved ones for weeks have told 10Investigates they want to know what nursing homes and assisted living facilities have coronavirus cases. At the very least, they said, it would give them peace of mind.
The state opted not to name the facilities with positive cases, citing HIPPA regulations.
"I absolutely think residents and family members should be told and I think the government can release locations that have it because they are not identifying anyone," said 96-year-old Charles Barr's daughter, Linda. Barr lives at an assisted living facility in Hillsborough County.
"And my background is public records law. There are ways you can release information without identifying someone."
It appears that is what Florida has done.
"I told the surgeon general from the beginning, we want to put as much information out as you can," DeSantis said Saturday. "Now, I don't think you should be identifying individual patients by name but at the same time, just getting the information out, I think, is better."
But pressure has been building for some time, and the state, prior to today, has not been completely forthcoming. News outlets statewide, including 10News, had been pushing for weeks to learn which facilities have coronavirus cases. The Miami Herald even filed a public records lawsuit to obtain the information; the governor's office attempted to quash it.
The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday for the first time listed, county-by-county, the number of coronavirus-related deaths reported at long-term care facilities.
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