VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood blasted the Florida Department of Health on Wednesday for not releasing more information about COVID-19 cases inside Volusia County long-term care facilities.
On Saturday, Ormond Beach city officials confirmed that 15 patients at Opis Coquina Center were transferred to local hospitals after testing positive for the coronavirus or suspected of having the illness. The Florida Department of Health’s website showed 46 confirmed cases and six deaths at eight long-term care facilities in Volusia County. It did not specify if the cases are patients, staff or both. Three of the facilities are in Ormond Beach.
State health officials had declined to release the names of long-term care facilities with coronavirus cases until last week. The complete list of affected long-term care facilities in the state can be viewed here.
“I don’t understand why we’re battling a virus with one hand tied behind our back,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood. “We were told that we didn’t need that information by DOH. And then obviously, a day later they said, ‘Oh no, that was a miscommunication,’ which is absolute bull ... because they told us what they told us. Now, we see that they misled the public, because as you see, there are more and more cases inside of nursing homes.”
Chitwood said by the health department only listing the names of the facilities puts his first responders at risk.
“With this COVID-19 stuff, you know who’s sick and where they are, why not allow us all that information so that we can take the proper precautions to go and enter and give the level of service that we need. Contrary to popular belief, we do not have unlimited supply of PPE material,” he said.
The sheriff said he's also been inundated with emails from concerned family members who claimed to be left in the dark about what's happening to their loved ones.
“The more information that’s out there in my opinion, the better informed the public is to make the decisions that they need to make,” Chitwood said.
News 6 asked the health department and the governor’s office if the state will release more details and have yet to hear back.
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