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SPEAK. LET'S LISTEN IN. >> HERE TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE STATE OF FLORIDA'S RESPONSE WITH COVID-19. EARLIER TODAY WE LEARNED OF THE LATEST INDIVIDUAL WITH COVID-19 THAT HAS PASSED AWAY IN FLORIDA. HE WAS A GENTLEMAN IN HIS 70'S FROM CLAY COUNTY. EARLIER THIS WEEK, WE RECEIVED NEWS THAT AN INDIVIDUAL IN AN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY IN BROWARD COUNTY TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 AND HAD PASSED AWAY. SUBSEQUENT TO THAT, DIFFICULT NEWS, WE LEARNED OF TWO ADDITIONAL PEOPLE IN THE SAME FACILITY THAT PASSED AWAY AROUND THE SAME TIME. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH HAS MADE SURE BOTH INDIVIDUALS WERE TESTED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. BOTH TESTS CAME BACK NEGATIVE. I APPRECIATE THE STAFF AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION, THEY'RE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO ENSURE ELDERLY POPULATION THROUGHOUT OUR STATE STAYS SAFE. MANDATORY REGULATIONS REGARDING ANY WORKER INVOLVED IN A NURSING HOME, ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY OR SERVING THE ELDERLY AND THAT'S NOT JUST MEDICAL. IF YOU'RE INVOLVED IN FOOD PREPARATION, THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WEAR A MASK. I THINK THE FEAR WITH THE ONE TRANSMITTED BY SOMEONE WHO WAS ASYMPTOMATIC AND WHO WAS WORKING ON THE STAFF. SO I APPRECIATE SECRETARY MAY HUE ACTING QUICKLY FOR THAT. I'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST WEEK, IS TO HAVE MORE ROBUST TESTING CAPABILITY IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. WE HAD STARTED DOING TESTING IN STATE ON FEBRUARY 22. PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 22, ANYONE THAT WAS TESTED, THE SAMPLES HAD TO BE SENT TO THE C.D.C. IN ATLANTA. THAT OBVIOUSLY TOOK QUITE A BIT OF TIME. TAMPA, SINCE FEBRUARY 22, THEY HAVE TESTED A TOTAL OF 1653. BUT IF YOU LOOK JUST A WEEK AGO, THAT IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE THAN WHERE WE WERE A WEEK AGO. AND THEN DURING THE WEEK OF MARCH 8, PRIVATE LABORATORIES BEGAN PROCESSING COVID-19 LABORATORY TESTS. SO QWEST, LABCORP, THERE'S OTHER LABS, THEY DO HAVE TO REPORT RESULTS BECAUSE THIS IS A REPORTABLE DISEASE. SO THEY DO THE TESTING AND THEN THE BASICS. SO THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THAT. NOW OBVIOUSLY WE'RE -- THERE'S GOING TO BE A LITTLE LAG SOMETIMES IN THE INFORMATION. AS SWEE MORE OF THE DRIVE-THROUGH TESTING, WHEN THAT GETS SENT TO PRIVATE LABS, A LOT OF TIMES THE PEOPLE, THEY'RE GOING TO GET A TEXT MESSAGE AND THEY'LL KNOW CERTAINLY BEFORE THE DEPARTM

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