Florida @GovRonDeSantis and his Minister of Propaganda @HelenAguirreFer refuse to say which elder care homes have coronavirus #BecauseFlorida tampabay.com/news/health/20… 
"Elder advocates are calling them cruise ships on dry land: Close to 200,000 Floridians live in nursing homes and retirement homes, which could become incubators for disease among sometimes frail elders as the coronavirus pandemic spreads throughout the state."
"@HealthyFla said that, as of Monday, 33 Floridians living in a skilled nursing or ALF tested positive for coronavirus... At least three long-term care residents have died from the infection. But that’s about all health administrators, and @GovRonDeSantis, are saying."
"For about two weeks, journalists and elder advocates have pressed state leaders to release information about where long-term care residents and staff have been exposed to the extremely contagious infection. The DeSantis administration has alternated between No and Maybe."
"For people with parents and grandparents in group homes, the frustration has been compounded by an ongoing ban on visitation related to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak."
"On Wednesday morning, DeSantis’ spokeswoman, Helen Aguirre Ferré, told the Miami Herald the governor was continuing to withhold the location of homes where residents or staff members have contracted the infection."
"For @BrianLeeFFBC, a former Florida long-term care ombudsman who now leads an organization called Families for Better Care, that’s not good enough. Lee says the state’s refusal to identify homes where residents are at risk is like 'playing Russian roulette' with elders’ lives."
Lee: "This is the worst public health crisis in at least this century. I stress the word public, because we are all affected. And the public has the right to know if these facilities are spiraling out of control into an outbreak. By not being transparent, it just fuels fear."
Important background: @SenRickScott worked tirelessly to deregulate businesses that are supposed to protect our most vulnerable residents. One of his first acts as governor was to fire Lee, who provided oversight on the nursing home industry for 8 years. miamiherald.com/news/weather/a…
Florida's Republican legislature @FLGOPMajority @FlSenate @MyFLHouse @FloridaGOP led by @SenRickScott, gutted regulations and eliminated accountability for operators of nursing homes and ALFs (assisted living facilities).
Under the guise of being “business friendly,” @SenRickScott — who oversaw the largest Medicare fraud in U.S. history — and @FloridaGOP enabled the abuse, neglect, rape and killing of Florida's elderly and handicapped for profit. #BecauseFlorida
Rick Scott and Florida GOP legislators have known for years about the dangerous conditions in many nursing homes and ALFs and done nothing. @AHCA_FL covered it up by hiding reports from the public about bad facilities where our family and friends live. miamiherald.com/news/special-r…
