Second death; 28th case

Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

The local COVID-19 situation has changed almost on a daily basis lately.

On Monday, April 27, the Florida Department of Health in Jefferson County (FDOH-Jefferson) confirmed a new case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

This latest person, which brings the local cases to 28 , was identified as a 52-year-old female. The woman, the FDOH-Jefferson said, was in isolation and receiving the appropriate medical care.

On Saturday, April 25, the FDOH-Jefferson confirmed the 27th case, identified as a 55-year-old man. He too was in isolation and receiving the appropriate medical care, according to the department.

And on Friday, April 24, the department reported the death of a second person from COVID-19, identified as an 89-year-old man. The county's first recorded COVID-19 death was an 93-year-old woman who died on Sunday, April 12.

“We would like to express our condolences to his family and loved ones,” Pam Beck, public information officer for the FDOH-Jefferson, emailed about the latest victim, adding that the medical examiner was conducting a review of the cause of death.

Beck did not give any further information on the deceased, being prevented from doing so by law and policy. But from a recently issued emergency order from the state suspending the licenses of two administrators at the Cross Landings Health and Rehabilitation Center in Monticello, it can be deduced that the deceased was a patient at the facility.
The emergency order suspending the licenses of administrators Mark Daniels and Sebrina Cameron identified at least 12 COVID-19 patients at Cross Landings, one of whom was an 89-year-old who had been diagnosed with the disease on Saturday, April 11.

The Friday, April 17 summary suspension of the licenses of Daniels and Cameron by State Surgeon General Scott Rivkees resulted from a stated failure of the two administrators to follow the proper protocols and implement the required safety measures to slow the spread of the disease at the facility.

The order essentially found “a systematic failure in the planning and implementation of safety measures designed to prevent further spread of COVID-19 to the other residents of Cross Landings.”

It specifically stated that their “repeated failures to enact or enforce reasonable safety measures were more than mere mistakes, but rose to the level of negligence and incompetence.”

The FDOH-Jefferson continues to focus its efforts on containment of the virus' spread and mitigation of its impact on residents, particularly those who are considered the most vulnerable because of advanced age or chronic medical conditions.

The department further urges individuals to wear a cloth face covering when in public settings and to contact a primary health physician, or the FDOH-Jefferson at (850) 342-0170, if they should experience any of coronavirus symptoms, such as coughing, high fever or shortness of breath, or if the person has had contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

As of Tuesday morning, April 28, when the FDOH's COVID-19 website was last updated, Florida had 32,846 confirmed cases and 1,171 deaths. In the United States, the numbers were 989,357 cases and 56,253 deaths. And globally, the pandemic accounted for 3,062,557 cases and 211,350 deaths.