People in Florida have to be happy that they have Republican governor Ron DeSantis at the helm during this coronavirus crisis. He managed to keep people in nursing homes safe and so far has piloted his state through the coronavirus crisis without losing too many Floridians or crushing his state’s economy. Sadly, people in New York cannot say the same about their governor, Democrat Andrew Cuomo.
Florida has close to 50,000 positive COVID-19 cases, and 2,200 deaths. New York has 361,515 positive cases and 23,391 deaths.
DeSantis posted the numbers for Florida:
For May 24, Florida reported over 41,000 test results with 997 positive tests for a statewide positivity rate of 2.5%.
Positivity rate for original Phase 1 counties: 1.98% pic.twitter.com/2P9ssPOOvF
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 25, 2020
Nursing homes in Florida
Over 20% of Floridians are seniors or one of every five people, or over 4 million Floridians. The only other state with more seniors is California, which is having the same troubles as every other state, with most of the coronavirus deaths in their nursing homes. According to the New York Post: Florida has roughly 350,000 residents and staff at more than 4,000 long-term-care facilities.
Florida seniors were safer because Governor DeSantis data from South Korea and Italy to decide how to handle seniors in Florida. The data revealed that the most vulnerable population was the elderly, particularly those over 80. So, DeSantis put measures in place to protect that population and used the state’s emergency infrastructure.
Because of frequent natural disasters, particularly hurricanes, the state has a robust emergency infrastructure including data collection. Using that system, DeSantis bolstered the nursing homes with PPE, testing, and monitoring of facilities. In the case of an outbreak in a nursing home, the infected were immediately isolated, If an HCP was infected, they were immediately sent home.
According to Click Orlando:
When a nursing home is found to have an outbreak, the state sends a health department team to work with the staff. The governor has also sent National Guard teams to nursing homes around the state to test employees and patients for the virus.
Results are in
Governor DeSantis made his own decisions about how to handle the crisis. But the mainstream media predicted doomsday for Florida and heaped opprobrium on him for putting his population at risk. In spite of the dire predictions, DeSantis forged ahead, giving counties flexibility in handling the coronavirus crisis, as most of the cases came from just three counties, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.
Florida is in much better shape than New York. In fact, though Florida and New York have roughly the same number of people, Florida has a little more than 2,000 deaths compared to New York’s almost 25,000 deaths. And in spite of the higher number of seniors in Florida, there were far fewer deaths in Florida nursing homes than in New York.
DeSantis explained how Florida operated during the coronavirus crisis:
We basically had businesses operating. We had the daycares open, we had recreation open, and my order never actually closed any businesses. We allowed them to operate within the context of just limiting contact between people outside the household.
DeSantis had a common-sense approach to lockdowns, concerned that they hadn’t been tried before and could be harmful to his state. He explained:
One of the things that bothered me throughout this whole time was, I researched the 1918 pandemic, ’57, ’68, and there were some mitigation efforts done in May 1918, but never just a national-shutdown type deal. There was really no observed experience about what the negative impacts would be on that.”
“So I was very concerned about things on that side as well, and I think that’s why I had a more nuanced and balanced approach than some of the other governors. Because you have some of these health officials saying, ‘You’ve got to do this. This is science,’ or whatever. But really, these were unchartered territories.”
Governor DeSantis showed true leadership in looking at the data, the CDC guidelines, the models, the projections, his state’s people and needs, and made decisions that benefitted the people of Florida and largely kept them safe. We need more governors like DeSantis.
Cuomo blames President Trump for nursing home deaths
Governor Andrew Cuomo, on the other hand, didn’t make good decisions for his state, and is now blaming President Trump for the nursing home deaths in his state, which are more than double the number in Florida, saying New York was following Trump’s policy on COVID-19 and nursing homes.
But the “Trump policy” is not the president’s policy, it is the CDC guidelines. The CDC did not mandate but rather set guidelines for managing COVID-19 in nursing homes, which governors then either implemented or not. The federal government paid for COVID-19 testing and labs.
According to CDC guidelines, COVID positive patients should only be allowed in nursing homes if the home could provide isolation, and dedicated staff to tend the COVID patients exclusively, among other things. But Cuomo went beyond the guidelines when he mandated by executive order, that nursing homes could not reject COVID positive patients.
Taking the time to read the CDC guidelines for nursing homes and COVID-19 will reveal if you have ever been to a nursing home, how hard it would be to meet the guidelines for managing coronavirus patients in a nursing home. The cleaning, the personal protective equipment, and the hourly crises that happen in nursing homes rules out the possibility of meeting the CDC guidelines. Some of the recommendations, e.g. isolation units and air exchange, would require infrastructure changes to facilities, which requires time. The virus does not wait while new infrastructure is being built.
Cuomo has said repeatedly that the most vulnerable population is the elderly, and then deliberately put them at risk, by ordering that no COVID positive patient could be turned away.
So, which governor really followed the CDC guidelines? Which governor is the hero?
Watch a Fox News report on Governor DeSantis’ lifesaving decisions:
1,126 Responses
When I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you can remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
This is a topic that’s close to my heart… Cheers! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Greetings! Very useful advice within this post! It is the little changes that will make the biggest changes. Many thanks for sharing!
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it won’t disappoint me as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read, nonetheless I actually believed you would probably have something interesting to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something you can fix if you weren’t too busy looking for attention.
Good article. I absolutely love this website. Keep writing!
I blog often and I really thank you for your information. This article has really peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your site and keep checking for new details about once per week. I subscribed to your Feed as well.
I needed to thank you for this great read!! I absolutely loved every bit of it. I’ve got you book marked to check out new stuff you post…
I was able to find good advice from your content.
Pretty! This was an extremely wonderful article. Many thanks for providing this information.
This excellent website truly has all the information and facts I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
I’m impressed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and interesting, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is something that too few people are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy I came across this in my search for something concerning this.
An interesting discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you ought to publish more on this topic, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people do not speak about these subjects. To the next! All the best!!
Great web site you have here.. It’s difficult to find high quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Hello, I think your web site could possibly be having browser compatibility issues. Whenever I look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, fantastic website!
When I initially left a comment I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment. There has to be a means you are able to remove me from that service? Thanks!
Saved as a favorite, I love your blog!
Hi, I do think this is a great website. I stumbledupon it 😉 I am going to come back yet again since I book marked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Appreciate it!
Excellent write-up. I certainly love this site. Continue the good work!
I really love your blog.. Great colors & theme. Did you develop this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m wanting to create my very own blog and would love to find out where you got this from or just what the theme is called. Kudos!
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you should write more on this subject matter, it may not be a taboo matter but typically folks don’t discuss such subjects. To the next! Kind regards!!
I absolutely love your website.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you build this website yourself? Please reply back as I’m wanting to create my own blog and want to know where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Thank you!
You should be a part of a contest for one of the best sites on the internet. I am going to recommend this web site!
Hi, I do believe your blog might be having browser compatibility problems. Whenever I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Besides that, fantastic site!
Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve visited your blog before but after browsing through many of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I stumbled upon it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!
Your style is unique in comparison to other people I have read stuff from. Thank you for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this web site.
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this web site before but after browsing through a few of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Regardless, I’m definitely delighted I came across it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back often!
I simply want to tell you that I am just beginner to blogging and site-building and certainly enjoyed this blog. Very likely I’m going to bookmark your site . You amazingly have perfect posts. Many thanks for revealing your website.
Spot on with this write-up, I really think this amazing site needs far more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the advice!
That is a very good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere. Brief but very accurate information… Many thanks for sharing this one. A must read post!
This is a topic that is close to my heart… Best wishes! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn’t disappoint me just as much as this particular one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I truly believed you’d have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something you could fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon every day. It’s always helpful to read through articles from other writers and use something from other websites.
Spot on with this write-up, I seriously believe this website needs much more attention. I’ll probably be returning to see more, thanks for the information!
Love watching sunset !
Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful post. Thank you for supplying these details.
I just want to mention I am just very new to weblog and actually savored you’re web blog. More than likely I’m going to bookmark your website . You really come with perfect posts. Thanks a lot for revealing your website.
Great article. I am facing a few of these issues as well..
Spot on with this write-up, I really think this website needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the info!
There’s definately a lot to learn about this topic. I really like all the points you made.