Florida officials shut down the state’s emergency operations center after 12 staffers test positive for COVID-19 – even though they ALL passed the building’s checks and protocols
- The Tallahassee building is closed until Monday and will undergo a deep cleaning
- Employees have been getting tested twice by the state since June and that was how the dozen were identified
- The staffers are said to not have shown symptoms, having also passed the building’s screening protocols
- Those protocols included a questionnaire and temperature checks
- Florida has been drastic surge in coronavirus cases, with the Florida Health Department reporting 322,994 positive cases and more than 4,912 deaths
Florida officials have shut down the state’s emergency center after 12 staffers tested positive for the coronavirus after passing screening protocols, as the state continues to see surges in cases and deaths.
The Tallahassee building is closed until Monday and will undergo a deep cleaning, according to the Division of Emergency Management, who operates the facility.
Employees for the state have been getting tested for COVID-19 twice a week since June, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The positive cases were found during these testings.
The Tallahassee building, currently operated by the Division of Emergency Management,
The dozen employees are said to not have shown symptoms, having also passed the building’s screening protocols. Those protocols included a questionnaire and temperature checks, according to division director Jared Moscowitz.
All of the staff who tested positive have been isolating at home and did not catch the virus from being in the building, Moscowitz added.
The closure comes as Florida has been drastic surge in coronavirus cases, with the Florida Health Department reporting 322,994 positive cases and more than 4,912 deaths.
The numbers earlier in the day suggested that more than 650,000 people had tested positive with the virus, but a spokesperson for the health department told the Dailymail.com that that was a result of the
The dozen employees did not show any symptoms, having also passed the building’s screening protocols. Those protocols included a questionnaire and temperature checks, according to division director Jared Moscowitz (pictured)
‘There was a technical issue on the Florida Department of Health dashboard this morning causing incorrect data to be displayed,’ the spokesperson said in an email. ‘The Department has diagnosed and fixed the issue. The numbers on the dashboard are now correct.’
The center, which typically is activated during hurricanes, was activated in March after the state had its first reported cases of the virus.
Staffers have been working around the clock at the facility, having been brought in from multiple state agencies from various counties.
The center has been at its highest level – Level 1 – for longer than any other disaster in the state’s history.
Workers have been allowed to bring their dogs to work and have been allowed to find suitable adjustments to accommodate the stringent hours.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel for them,” Moskowitz said.
Employees are working from home while the center undergoes its deep cleaning.
‘The safety of my employees and their families is paramount,’ Moskowitz said on Twitter. ‘It is why we have had aggressive screening, temperature checks, since February, Mandatory masks and testing. We will continue to operate and respond throughout this period. We are all in this together.’
Employees are working from home while the center undergoes its deep cleaning