I’m a big believer in the public’s right to know, especially when what we need to know allows us to make informed decisions that could impact our lives and livelihoods.
So, we need another executive order.
We need our governor to rise above politics, put the state’s health above its economy as coronavirus cases continue to spike, and do what’s necessary to protect us – or at least allow us to protect ourselves.
We need him to require all Florida businesses, particularly those involving face-to-face contact with customers, to alert the public when an employee tests positive for COVID-19, rather than merely hope they have the courage and conviction to put people over profits.
Right now, business owners in Florida have no such obligation. Fortunately, some of them care enough about their customers and communities to do what’s right.
Both Bobby’s Restaurant & Lounge on Ocean Drive and Capt. Hirams Resort on Sebastian’s riverfront were closed for the July 4th weekend because employees had tested positive for the virus.
Actually, both establishments had closed days before, their owners saying they didn’t want to risk infecting customers and other employees.
Good for them.
Better for us.
We don’t need to know, nor should we be told, the name of any employees who’ve tested positive. Privacy laws must be respected. But we should know whether a place of business poses a virus threat before we walk in.
During a public-health emergency, businesses have no right – or shouldn’t, anyway – to hide from their communities vital information that could impact peoples’ decisions about what places they want to go or stay away from.
We should be told when employees have tested positive for the virus, when they were tested and when they last worked on the premises. We should be told if other employees have been tested. We should be told, without revealing identities, whether the business owner is aware of any customers who’ve been infected.
Also, if the business hasn’t closed, we should be told what efforts have been made to disinfect the place to reduce the threat of further infection.
An example of responding responsibly can be found on Capt. Hirams’ Facebook page, where owner Will Collins announced last week that he was closing both the hotel and restaurant until at least July 9 because two employees had tested positive for COVID-19.
“We have communicated with all associates who may have had contact with him/her, and they will be waiting the required 14-day quarantine period or providing documentation of a negative test before returning to work,” Collins wrote, adding that the resort will undergo a deep cleaning before reopening.
That’s how every business in Florida should handle it. That’s how state authorities should demand they handle it.
It was stunning, really, to learn last week that no state agency or ordinance requires such public disclosure – not the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, not the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, not even the Department of Health.
Likewise, there are no applicable mandates from the Centers for Disease Control or the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“Bars and restaurants are required by the governor’s emergency order to report cases to the Department of Health,” DBPR spokesman Patrick Fargason said Monday, “but not to the public.”
The Department of Health, however, isn’t required to alert the public, nor does it release to the public the names of the people or businesses it traces when notified of such cases.
So, as the number of virus cases soars and business continues to be conducted, we don’t know what we don’t know.
That is more than a bit troubling.
