Florida No Longer Requires Negative COVID Tests for Restaurant Workers
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Florida No Longer Requires Negative COVID Tests for Restaurant Workers
Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Wednesday relaxing requirements for restaurant employees returning to work after testing positive for COVID-19.
Under a March 17, 2020 executive order, the state of Florida required two negative tests for a worker to return to the job after testing positive for COVID-19. The new executive order, however, modifies the original order, putting the responsibility on restaurants to "implement employee screening protocols pursuant to guidance developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
The order follows a July update to the CDC's guidelines. Under the new guidelines, patients recovering from COVID-19 can stop self-isolating 10 days after the first appearance of symptoms, down from the previous recommendation of 14 days, providing that patients don't have a fever or show any new symptoms. The guidelines do say that business owners and managers should, however, "actively encourage employees who are sick or have recently had a close contact with a person with COVID-19 to stay home."
Though the CDC guidelines are more wide-ranging and apply to employees from various fields, the Florida executive order only applies to restaurant workers. In Florida, restaurants are allowed to remain open at 50 percent capacity providing they adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Restaurant owners and employees are mixed on the new order. Some welcome the ability to return to work more quickly, due to the loss of income.
"I think that this would help us out a lot," Chris Ponte, owner of Tampa restaurants On Swann and Olivia, told the Tampa Bay Times. "It would get the people out on the floor faster, while still being safe."
Other owners say they won't relax the requirement for two negative tests.
"We're not going to stop just because the state says so," Tim Petrillo, owner of 11 bars, clubs and restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "If you don't require a COVID test to go back to work, and he turns out to be contagious, and he infects the entire staff, I'm not going to risk my business, my health or my employees' health."
Making potential customers feel safe is another issue for some owners.
"Restaurants are going to have to be more transparent than ever to make people feel safe," Diego Ng, co-owner of Temple Street Eatery in Fort Lauderdale, told the Sentinel.
Some restaurants, including On Swann and Olivia, make employees go under daily screenings, including temperature checks before shifts. Ferrell Alvarez, owner of the Rooster & The Till restaurant told the Times he has his employees tested at a nearby clinic that can give results in 20 minutes. Alvarez pays for the tests, and says his company has spent about $1,000 so far. He's not planning on relaxing his system.
"For us, we're still sticking to our same (routine)," he told the paper. "Now that we've found a facility that can get you in and out in a day. We feel great about what we have in place."
Newsweek reached out to the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association for comment.
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Trump wants testing to stop (except his own, of course), so virus numbers will go down and make him look better. What better place to start than Florida, his state of residence, and a state where the governor is off-the-chain obvious in his worship of this president.
What makes this disgusting, is that it will affect the lives of those that he cares the least about: restaurant employees. To him, they are a dime a dozen.
Donald Trump has done scads of shitty and shady things while in office. This is far and away the worst.
Many of the restaurants here have said that they will continue to test, disregarding DeSantis order.
I hope so. Out of curiosity, I wonder how many times a day Ron DeSantis gets tested.
There needs to be a list of the restaurants that will still do testing. If one isn't on the list, avoid eating there.
Five test positive for coronavirus after meeting with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
I'm guessing none. He may be the next to come down with it.
I wonder if he might be asymptomatic and infected those 5.
Pardon my French on a Sunday, but you have got to be fucking kidding me.
I could go on and on.
And you should also read this. It's really good.
Wrong!!
Donald Trump does not just not care about restaurant workers.
Donald Trump does not care about any workers...
The only restaurant workers Trump cares about are the ones who prepare his Big Macs.
That's precisely the problem. In a time of crisis, the nation needs a leader who will step up; who will take the necessary decisions, even at a political cost.
“I don't take responsibility at all,” Trump said defiantly
You probably need to read up on what states can and cannot do.
Trump has nothing to do with Florida's decision, so can that crap. This isn't about Trump.
Not everything is, you know.
"It is what it is!"
yes, and what it is is this:
NOT ABOUT TRUMP
DeSantis will do anything to stay on Trump's good side.
I was listening to Rick Wilson's podcast recently and they had a guest who works for the Florida health dept. She said Florida has been messing with their coronavirus statistics all along and she was ordered to reconfigure the stats on number of cases to minimize it. If I remember I will try and get her name and add something about it.
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Let's face it, there are all sorts of people, in many businesses , that will gladly cut corners to keep their doors open. Thats why this thing will be around a long time.
that will gladly cut corners to keep their doors open.
Yeah....who cares how many people lose their jobs and can't pay their bills.
You have a choice:
Possibly lose your job.
or
Possibly die and cause your family to possibly die as well.
We know your choice Greg. When you're dead, who pays your bills?
If FL reelects this ahole, they deserve what they get.
Well, to be fair, we dodged the drug using thief.