November 18, 2020

The Honorable Ron DeSantis

Governor of Florida
400 S. Monroe Street, Tallahassee FL 32399

Dear Governor DeSantis:

This isn’t working. It is unmistakably clear that Florida’s approach to managing this pandemic is failing
horribly. Since you reopened all elements of commerce in late September and, simultaneously,
prevented local government from enforcing individual mask mandates, positive cases have risen steeply,
as have resulting hospitalizations. Unfortunately, increased deaths are expected to follow as well.

The herd immunity theory advanced by your advisors, namely that we can allow this virus to spread in a
controlled way while protecting the vulnerable, was wrong in theory and is being proven a disaster in
practice. If we fail to change direction, there is no reason to believe these devastating trendlines will
recede.

Today, a number of mayors across Florida pled with you to change course. We asked that you:

• Implement a statewide mask mandate;

• Allow local government to enact remedial measures addressing local conditions including enhanced
mask enforcement, capacity limits, and social distancing requirements;
• Restore state testing facilities and operations to fullest capacity;
• Implement best practices for contact tracing including authorizing DOH to allow use of the Google-
Apple enterprise (GAEN) app for contact tracing on the local level.

We won’t need to return to lock-downs if we are allowed to manage the virus through implementation
of these best practices.

Mask usage is obviously essential. The data proves that after we implemented it, our community saw a
substantial reduction in virus spread. I believe if you were to implement a statewide mask mandate it
would save thousands of lives. It is also vital that local governments be given freedom to fashion
remedies that respond to local challenges. For instance, my community which receives millions of visitors
every year might have different challenges than places that only have a local resident population to
worry about.

We also need to have more available testing. The State’s decision to roll back availability of testing
centers has not simply inconvenienced many Floridians but, more importantly, made it difficult for many
to get tested when they most need to. In many communities the waits are increasing every day as more
people are concerned that they may be infected.

Finally, the State’s contact tracing program is still failing to do its job of curbing spread of the virus. In my
own County, for instance, during the two-week period ending November 13, your contact tracers only
interviewed 45% of newly infected residents to discover who else might be infected and to assure they
quarantine. Additionally, our State, unlike many other states, declined to develop an app to assist contact
tracing and has not authorized use of the Google-Apple Enterprise (GAEN) app that may prove effective
in curbing the spread of the disease. Without state approval, it cannot be used statewide or on the local
level. Please consider directing your Department of Health to allow local governments the option to
utilize the app as it may prove effective in some circumstances, but without your approval we will never
know.

A vaccine is on the horizon, but the pandemic will not be in our rear-view mirror for likely six more
months. I fully share your goal of reopening the economy and avoiding debilitating lockdowns. And I
know you are similarly concerned about the health of our residents. But I believe your approach is
neither saving lives or livelihoods. Our State’s primary economic engine is hospitality and people will not
travel here if they believe it is unsafe. In fact, I’m convinced that projecting our State as a place where
people are not wearing masks and where the virus is allowed to spread unconstrained will only serve to
discourage visitors. In my community I have seen responsible hoteliers, restaurateurs and
businesspeople adopt health and safety standards that foster customer confidence that translates into
more patrons. This has to be the model for our State’s way out.

Please consider these recommendations.

Thanks for your service,

Dan Gelber