Today, Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-21) was joined by local elected officials in sending a letter to the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners urging them to take immediate action to slow the spread of COVID-19 in local hot spots.

The letter states in part, “As you are aware, several areas in the county have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also know that the disease moves very quickly and knows no boundaries.”

“In response, a virtual roundtable was recently held, with area elected officials, non-profit organizations, and Dr. Alina Alonso, Florida Department of Health Director for Palm Beach County, to discuss the high incidence of COVID-19 in “hot spots” that include ZIP Codes 33415, 33463, 33461, 33460, and 33430 (encompassing Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Palm Springs, Greenacres, and Belle Glade). We discussed how to improve the ongoing efforts to stop the spread.”

The letter suggests the following actions be taken:

• A coordinator be appointed and community task committee be created to address the concerns of hot spots;
• A system that is culturally sensitive to the community be put in place to educate, test, contact trace, and isolate patients where necessary;
• Community health workers who can work closely with workers and their families be immediately dispatched to these hot spots;
• That appropriate protective equipment be provided for in home isolation where possible.
• Testing should be done at times convenient to reach workers when they are off work including on a weekly basis (not one time) for all workers at gathering points like where workers enter transportation for work. Workers should be given certificates to show they’ve been tested.
• The County should reach out to employers using hotspot workers to encourage a humane healthy approach to stopping the spread of COVID-19.
• The county should work with non-profit organizations to encourage economic help to workers who must isolate and have no financial support from government, family, or friends. This should be in the form of rental, food, health, and other assistance to meet short term needs while the infected worker self isolates.
• Where workers have federal identification or social security numbers, the county should consider using CARES Act funds for short term direct economic assistance.  

The letter was signed by Sen. Lori Berman (District 31), Rep. Tina Polsky (District 81), Rep. David Silvers (District 87), Greenacres Mayor Joel Flores, Village of Palm Springs Mayor Bev Smith, and Lake Worth Beach Mayor Pam Triolo. Full text of the letter is available here.

###