At $266.67 an hour, Florida Senate hires a COVID-19 team
TALLAHASSEE — In about a month, the doors of the Florida Capitol are scheduled to swing open as 160 legislators get back to work, with the looming question of whether the window-free spaces used by lawmakers and hundreds of staff members will be safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s up to Seetha Lakshmi and her team to draw up a plan to accomplish that goal, especially since legislative leaders have already said they are required under law to do their business in person and not remotely.
Lakshmi and her team were brought in after the Senate signed a two-year contract with Tampa General Hospital for prevention response and outreach services. The Senate will pay $266.67 an hour for work done by physicians and $200 an hour for work done by non-physicians. The contract is for an unlimited number of hours.
Lawmakers are scheduled to hold a constitutionally required organizational session on Nov. 17, when new members will be sworn in and leaders will be formally selected for the next two years.
Lakshmi makes it clear: She can’t guarantee that when the House and Senate reopen for business that there will be no risk of contracting COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
“There is never going to be zero risk,” said Lakshmi, an assistant professor of infectious disease at the University of South Florida and an epidemiologist for Tampa General Hospital. “We have to learn to live with this. We are essentially aiming at protecting lives and livelihoods in many ways. It’s been such a moving target.
“The best we can do is look at the science, look at what we can do successfully and spread the word.”
The team has not been contacted by the House of Representatives or the governor’s office, which, along with the Florida Senate, are located in the Capitol building.
Creating the infection-control plan includes assessing and carrying out changes in three broad areas: engineering, administration, and personal protective equipment.
Lakshmi and two consultants were in Tallahassee for two days last week examining buildings, meeting with staff and collecting data about the air-conditioning and heating systems.
Senate spokeswoman Katie Betta said the team evaluated all of the Senate areas in the Capitol, the Senate Office Building and the Capitol’s Knott Building, as well as entry and exit points to the buildings, hallways, bridges and elevators.
Charly Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the college of medicine, said issues involving the air-conditioning system, such as how well it’s been maintained and the number of air exchanges that can be generated, will be key to ensuring a safe environment and controlling contamination.
“The second really critical thing is to be able to socially distance and obviously have them be compliant with face masks. That’s really important,” Lockwood said.