After months of isolation and lockdown, Florida residents can now visit their loved ones in extended-care and senior facilities.
Marty Goetz is CEO of River Garden Senior Services in Mandarin. He said Thursday on First Coast Connect with Melissa Rossthat while his residents and staff welcome the change, he still feels Florida has had poor overall leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The governor talked about feeling a pit in his stomach last March. I hope Gov. DeSantis felt that same pit in his stomach when he refused to order the mandatory wearing of masks in Florida,” Goetz said.
On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in Jacksonville that his taskforce on the Safe and Limited Reopening of Long-Term Care Facilities had given him new recommendations on outside visitors that he was signing into law.
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In order for a long-term care facilities to allow visitors back in again, they need to have had at least two weeks without any new coronavirus cases among their residents or their staff. Visitations are by appointment only. And visitors will have to go through a screening process that includes a temperature check.
To hear the entire interview with Goetz, listen to Thursday’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross. The show also encores at 8 p.m. on WJCT News 89.9.
Melissa Ross can be reached at mross@wjct.org, 904-358-6382 or on Twitter at @MelissainJax.
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