Mucarsel-Powell and Levine Cava Lead Press Conference With Local Leaders and Public Health Expert to Renew Demand for Coordinated COVID Response

MIAMI-DADE – Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), member of the bipartisan Congressional Coronavirus Task Force,and County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava led a press conference with local officials to discuss the surge in COVID-19 cases and renew bipartisan calls for coordinated action from the State of Florida, Florida’s Department of Health, and Miami-Dade County to address the public health crisis.

Federal, state, local leaders from Miami-Dade have called for testing, contact tracing, state-wide mask order, quarantining“As a parent, as a concerned Floridian, the surge in cases is extremely concerning, and so is the debate about how to move forward, especially how we can ensure the safety of our children in schools,” said Rep. Mucarsel-Powell. “I join my constituents in calling on our state and county leaders to listen to people in the community who for months sacrificed to stay home, to close their businesses, and expected to have a robust public health infrastructure by now.”

“As Florida and Miami-Dade are shattering records with new cases, our healthcare system is overwhelmed and our residents are rightfully anxious and worried,” said Commissioner Levine Cava. My husband is a doctor and he hears everyday our local system is being tested like never before. With our hospitals and ICU-beds at max capacity, we cannot afford to remain two steps behind this virus. We clearly do not have a State or County plan in place. We need a clear and comprehensive plan, today, to get ahead of this virus. Lives are on the line.”

On July 7, Commissioner Levine Cava joined Rep. Mucarsel-Powell and a bipartisan group of state and local leaders in a statement calling on the State of Florida and the Florida Department of Health to: communicate that anyone seeking a test can get tested without preconditions; surge contact tracing to South Florida; work to comfortably quarantine infected people; and require the use of masks in public settings, especially indoors.

A downloadable video of the press conference can be found HERE.

Speakers included:

• U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell;
• County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava;
• State Senator Oscar Braynon;
• State Senator Annette Taddeo;
• State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez; 
• Dr. Aileen Marty, FIU Epidemiologist & Public Health Expert.