Florida's emergency operations center closes after 12 employees test positive for COVID-19

TALLAHASSEE — Florida officials shut down the state’s emergency operations center on Thursday after 12 staffers tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks.

The building, which functions as the state’s command center during statewide emergencies, is closed until Monday and will undergo a deep cleaning, according to the Division of Emergency Management, which operates the center.

The positive cases were discovered after the state started testing employees for COVID-19 twice per week in June. All 12 were not displaying symptoms and passed the building’s screening protocols, which include a questionnaire and temperature checks, according to division Director Jared Moskowitz.

The center, about 20 minutes from the Capitol, is typically activated during hurricanes and operates around the clock. But state officials activated it in March, after the state reported its first cases of COVID-19.

Since then, staffers, which come from multiple state agencies, have been working around the clock to procure and distribute medical supplies around the state and, recently, dispatching nurses to hospitals that need them, Moskowitz said.




https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/07/16/floridas-emergency-operations-center-closes-after-12-employees-test-positive-for-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR2LNryZT_A8n_H2Z2ESxIMNcZewRrrghQp5UouBLNH7oeg5D9RxZAZyjOk