Coronavirus Florida: PBC cases reach 1,841 as pressure rises for DeSantis to name hard-hit nursing homes

It is unknown how many people who live or work at long-term health facilities have succumbed to the highly contagious respiratory disease because it isn't being reported by state health officials.

The operators of some nursing homes in Broward County and others have confirmed to news outlets that elderly residents have died from the virus that is particularly dangerous to people over the age of 65 and those with chronic health problems.

For instance, the operators of the Court at Palm Aire, a 90-bed assisted-living center in Pompano Beach told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that three of its residents have died from COVID-19 and another six residents are infected.

While state officials have acknowledged some deaths among the 155,000 residents of elder care facilities around the state, they have refused to name the facilities, citing privacy laws.

Families who have loved ones in nursing homes are left to wonder if their elderly relatives are at risk, because the state isn't giving them the information they need, Farmer said.

"What is the governor trying to hide?" asked Barbara DeVane, secretary of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans. "His ineptness?"

Since the pandemic began sweeping the state, DeSantis has said he has been "laser-focused" on protecting residents of elder care facilities, which also care for people with disabilities. He barred visitors on March 14.

When problems are obvious, such as when 21 residents and 30 staff members of a nursing home in Suwannee County tested positive last week, he dispatched a "strike team" of health workers to review what had happened and establish protocols to stop the virus from spreading.

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