Category: Emergency Notices

I received this today. Some residents have been asking about using the pool.

Our attorney received a copy of Miami-Dade County Emergency Order
15-20 which effectively has closed all common use amenities in that county. I’ve copied a portion of the order below:

“All pools, hot tubs, golf courses, tennis courts, basketball courts, fitness centers, gymnasiums and other common use amenities, whether of a commercial or non-commercial nature, are closed for all purposes. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this order does not apply to any pool, hot tub, tennis court, basketball court, fitness center, gymnasium or other amenity located: (a) on a single family residential lot, or, (b) at any townhouse, duplex, or villa, and which is for the exclusive recreational or leisure use of the inhabitants of such individual dwelling unit.” I wouldn’t be surprised to see other counties issue the same type of order…

Everyone is learning more about the virus everyday, we want to follow what the best recommended practices are, even if we do not agree or understand them, to help prevent the spreading of this virus. The CDC and other agencies know more about what is happening than any of us, so we must trust their recommendations.

Dave Zeller

I’m posting the link to an article forwarded to me from USA TODAY warning
that Florida may be one of the next epicenters of the pandemic:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/26/coronavirus-tests-scarce-florida-home-millions-elderly-hospitals-scrounging/5083283002/

The link below is about “SCAMS” from the FDIC

FDIC: https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2020/pr20032.html

Everyone be safe and follow all CDC recommendations.

Dave Zeller

Here is another update from our attorney. Please read these updates, I think they give a better understanding of what we and communities like us are facing. This is new ground for everyone.

Email:
Good morning, everyone.

The Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard was updated about 30 minutes ago. We now have 2,355 confirmed cases—which is an increase of almost 400 new cases overnight. I’m posting the link to that map here for your reference and you’ll note there are several other tabs at the bottom of the map that can provide you with a lot of additional information on testing, a county by county analysis and US and worldwide statistics:

Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard
Florida Department of Health, Division of Disease Control and Health Protection

At this point, it appears that most of the resident-owned communities have closed their clubhouses and pools. There are one or two community associations relying on their residents to self-enforce a “ten person only” limit in the pool and pool area. It appears that the laundry rooms in many if not most communities are remaining open with notices being posted in regards to the importance of following the CDC guidelines and using common sense and proper hygiene when in the laundry room area.

Several communities are struggling with questions of whether and how to provide notice to residents if and when the manager or board become aware that someone in the community has tested positive for COVID-19. My thought is that the board should notify the residents of the positive test but not identify the person testing positive unless and until that resident consents in writing to being identified.

The other issue that’s been raised by a number of communities in the past two or three days is how to respond to visitors and guests—even those who are family residents and guests. I know of at least one ungated community where signs have been ordered and will be placed at all of its entrances advising that guests and visitors are not allowed during this pandemic. While I think enforcing any rule prohibiting guests and visitors would be very difficult in most situations, a strongly worded letter/email sent to all residents and posted in conspicuous places in the community makes sense. The residents need to keep in mind that every person entering the community is a potential carrier of the COVID-19 virus and thus poses a potential threat of infecting others. We make it much more difficult to achieve the goal of “flattening the curve”– and providing our hospitals and health care professionals with the breathing room needed to minimize the damage to our communities that this pandemic will cause—each time we bring another potential carrier of the virus into our respective communities.

Obviously, each community has its own specific issues and, like all of you, community association lawyers are dealing with unique and first-time questions on what seems to be a minute by minute basis. You’ll want to consult with your community’s legal counsel in regards to those specific issues.

I’ll leave you until my next update with the CDC guidelines on the symptoms to look for with COVID-19 and the hope that all of you will continue to stay safe, stay healthy, and that we get through this pandemic together.

Here’s that CDC site:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

This is the email I received from our attorney yesterday 3-23-2020. I post this so you are aware of the other communities that he is involved with and the what they are experiencing.

Email:
I just checked the Florida Department of Health’s Covid-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. There are currently 1,227 confirmed cases in Florida (compared to 1007 at this time yesterday afternoon) with 18 fatalities and 1,237 cases being monitored. Our figures are part of the 42,817 confirmed cases (and 573 deaths) in the US.

Sadly, I am still hearing from communities where efforts to “flatten the curve” are being met with vocal opposition from residents in spite of all of the emergency orders and the sobering statistics. The medical experts cautioned us that the percentage of the fatalities from COVID-19 would be substantially greater than that of the flu and that prediction from these experts is so far looking to be accurate.

One of the recipients of my group emails took an informal poll of neighboring communities and advised earlier today that of 22 communities, all 22 had closed their clubhouses and cancelled activities, 19 communities had already closed their pools (with two more communities considering closure today) and the remaining community’s pool remained open after having sanitized and removed all pool furniture. She also noted that Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection is closing all state parks until further notice—and it appears that the parks had to close because all of the steps taken to allow them to remain open (including limiting operating hours and reducing visitor capacity) were not working to significantly reduce social contact.

We received several emails this morning from managers asking whether (and how) visitors and guests could be prohibited from entering the community.

Common sense (as well as the Governor’s Emergency Orders and CDC and WHO guidance) should make it clear to everyone allowing visitors works against all efforts to “flatten the curve” but apparently we cannot rely on everyone to use common sense during this pandemic.

If anyone would like to chime in and let us know how your community is dealing with or plans to deal with the “visitor/guest” issue, please do so for the benefit of everyone on this list.

Stay safe, stay healthy, keep your social distancing and keep washing your hands!

Below is the latest message from our attorney, please read it. I will keep posting this information as I receive it. I know there is a lot of information here but I think it is worth your time to read. Please do not hesitate to call the office if you need assistance with anything. Dave Zeller

In an earlier email he mentioned that communities have asked their residents not to invite anyone to visit them, this makes perfect sense considering how quickly this is spreading.

Also Publix has announced that they are having special shopping hours for seniors over 65. Winn Dixie has special hours also. I recommend that you call our local stores to confirm days and time.

Publix Supermarkets will begin offering special hours for senior citizens to shop without additional crowds in the store. Beginning Tuesday, March 24, Publix will open two mornings a week from 7 AM to 8 AM for customers age 65 and up. The special hours will be available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Additionally, Publix is suspending refunds on products purchased during the declared emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic. This is to encourage shoppers to purchase only what they need, and to deter hoarders. That being said, Publix will continue to honor refunds or exchanges for products that do not meet company quality standards.

The Florida Department of Health has a “COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard” (you can click the blue letters to view the link ) it is updated at about 11 AM and 6 PM each day.

EMAIL from Attorney from Sunday March 22, 2020 at 7:01 PM

Good evening, everyone,
A few things to bring to your attention tonight:

As of 6 p.m., there are now 1007 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Florida. That’s almost 250 more than yesterday at this time.

The President of the community where one of the residents had tested positive emailed me today that the Board had received a lot of complaints on the community’s Facebook page because the Board did not identify the resident in its notice to the community. Privacy issues and other legal questions aside, the residents posting these complaints are missing the point: it should be clear by now that each one of us has to assume that we and anyone we may come into contact with may be carrying the virus that’s the whole purpose of maintaining that social distancing, avoiding gatherings of more than ten persons, and frequently and thoroughly washing our hands. We can all do our best to “flatten the curve” and minimize the effects of this pandemic by following the CDC and WHO guidelines—and by assuming that all of us have already come into contact with the virus—but not panicking about that and using common sense and the advice of our health care providers before we further overburden our health care system by trying to be tested for the virus.

I was also provided with a link to a story that helps explain why pool closures in all resident owned communities in our state are probably going to be a reality sooner rather than later. We’ve discussed the difficulties and dangers of allowing pools to remain open with a number of our communities and I think closing pools sends an important message to residents and guests that this pandemic must be taken seriously—it’s not an exaggeration to say the lives of each resident and guest may depend on that. Apparently, too many of our neighbors still haven’t gotten the message. Here’s the link with the disclaimer on my part that it is not my intent (nor that of the person who provided this link to me) to make any political judgments—and it should be noted that earlier today, New York’s Governor Cuomo spent a portion of his COVID-19 update scolding and pleading with the “millennials” in NYC who were still playing basketball, congregating in parks and on sidewalks and otherwise acting as if we weren’t dealing with a very dangerous virus that’s already taken too many lives throughout our country and the world to wake up and face reality. Anyway, here’s the link: Orlando Weekly

We are all in this together: young and old, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Let’s do our best to protect ourselves and our neighbors.

Hopefully, I won’t be bothering you again today—I am going to put on some music and try to read a good book!

Stay safe and healthy!