Florida Governor Says Restaurants Don’t Need A Negative COVID-19 Test Before Returning To Work

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized restaurants on Friday for requiring employees to present negative COVID-19 test results before returning to work.

“The problem with demanding a negative test is these PCR tests will pick up just particles, so it could be dead virus,” he said, “and the CDC has seen people test positive for up to 12 weeks. Obviously, you only carry live virus for a very short period of time.”

The Florida Department of Health reported 7,686 new COVID-19 cases statewide, which makes it almost a week with under 8,000 daily reported cases.

The state continues to roll out rapid test results as DeSantis lifts restrictions for restaurant employees thanks to an order DeSantis signed earlier this week stating that if an employee tested positive for COVID-19, they can get back on the job if they don’t have symptoms instead of testing negative twice, according to Tampa Bay Times.

“With the CDC doing some revised guidance in the last few weeks about employees returning to the workplace, if you’re somebody that tests positive and you go 10 days without symptoms, then you’re clear to come back because you’re going to be infectious at that point,” DeSantis said.

Broward County Mayor Dale Holness says that they are in “positive trends” for COVID spreading in Broward County.

“We’re in positive trends for COVID spread in Broward County. Our positivity rate is down to less than 10 percent over a three-day period. Our hospitals, both Memorial Healthcare and Broward Health, indicated that they’re seeing a substantial drop in the number of patients coming in for COVID-19 care.”