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Florida Coronavirus Update: 3 Deaths At Broward ALF, 763 Confirmed Cases Statewide

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – There are now 763 confirmed Florida COVID-19 cases. One hundred sixty-nine of those cases are in Miami-Dade and 164 are in Broward.

There have been 12 deaths, including three at the Atria Willow Woods Assisted Living Facility in Fort Lauderdale. Governor Ron DeSantis announced the third death Saturday during his daily coronavirus press conference in Tallahassee.

The Governor says the ALF did not impose the required safety requirements which allowed sick construction workers, hospital staff and food staff to enter the building.

Atria Senior Living released this statement to CBS4 News following the Governor's statements.

"For the last several weeks, we have been singularly focused on preparing our communities and responding to COVID-19. The Governor's comments both yesterday and today were unfair and an inaccurate description of many steps we have taken to protect the health and safety of our residents. Beginning March 4, we have been actively screening all visitors and prohibiting anyone from working in the community if he or she is unable to pass our screening, well before any state guidance on this was provided. As soon as the Department of Health office in Broward County notified us of the first confirmed case on March 16, we immediately escalated our protocols within the community. The Department of Health was quickly on-site and was entirely supportive of our responses and protocols. Over the past two weeks, we have been in daily communication with the different state and local agencies, including the Department of Health office in Broward County, the Agency for Health Care Administration and others. We also continue to follow all recommendations and guidelines from the CDC."

"The state and local agencies have reviewed all of our protocols every step of the way, including as recently as yesterday, and they have been supportive of our enhanced protocols and complimentary of our responses generally. To say that we are not doing everything in our power to keep our residents and employees safe is unacceptable, inaccurate and reckless. This is a time when government and businesses should be working together. Despite this unnecessary and frustrating distraction, we will remain focused on taking care of our residents and employees."

Atria's Senior Vice President of Care Mike Gentry confirmed the three coronavirus related deaths to CBS4 News on Saturday night plus an additional 7 positive cases and pending results for five other residents.

"As we previously shared, we had three residents pass away last week, two tested positive and the other tested negative. We have also received confirmation that another resident who recently passed has tested positive. Our thoughts are with the families of these residents during this difficult time. As of today, we have seven residents currently in the hospital who have tested positive and four that have tested negative. We are awaiting the results for five other residents who have also been tested. We remain in close communication with our residents and families and continue to provide our support as we navigate this unprecedented situation together."

Gov DeSantis also said the majority of people infected in Florida have been under 60.

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