Declaring A Public Health Crisis, CDC Extends Eviction Moratorium

FLORIDA — Thousands of Florida homeowners and renters are breathing a sigh of relief after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed an order Tuesday to extend the eviction moratorium through Oct. 3.

The moratorium that was put in place during the coronavirus pandemic expired July 31, leaving renters and homeowners who lost their jobs scrambling to find new housing.

Walensky said lifting the moratorium was causing a public health crisis in light of the surge of coronavirus cases due to the introduction of the delta variant. Florida has been especially hard hit with 23 percent of all new coronavirus cases in the country.

According to the CDC, "the evictions of tenants for failure to make rent or housing payments could be detrimental to public health control measures to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19."

The rise in cases has prompted Florida hospitals to resume limiting visitors and pausing non-emergency surgeries to make room for the flood of new coronavirus patients.

"The emergence of the delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated," Walensky said. "This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads."

She said the extension of the eviction moratorium allows additional time for governments to help renters and homeowners with financial assistance and for more people to be vaccinated.

"It is imperative that public health authorities act quickly to mitigate such an increase of evictions, which could increase the likelihood of new spikes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission," she said. "Such mass evictions and the attendant public health consequences would be very difficult to reverse."

Like quarantines, isolation and social distancing, the CDC said an eviction moratorium can prevent the spread of the coronavirus by allowing people who become ill or are at risk of transmitting COVID-19 to self-isolate or self-quarantine, remaining safely in their homes and away from crowds.

The order applies to all counties in the United States experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission of the coronavirus, including all 67 Florida counties.

Currently, 23 percent of all new coronavirus cases are occurring in Florida.

"Florida is seeing record COVID hospitalizations," said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, the state's only elected Democrat and a contender for the governor's office.

Since the Florida Department of Health stopped reporting daily coronavirus statistics in June, Fried has begun issuing her own reports based on information provided by the CDC.

She's also been critical of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issuing an order preventing school districts from mandating that students wear face masks or taking other measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Florida.

"Gov. DeSantis needs to take his head out of the sand, issue an emergency order and take this threat seriously," she said. "If we don't increase testing capacity, vaccine rates and public outreach, the surge will get worse."

DeSantis has also vowed to block any federal legislation mandating face masks, ordering business closures or requiring residents to be vaccinated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coronavirus tracker, Florida reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the state's highest one-day total since the pandemic began, making Florida the nation's top state for the number of new coronavirus cases. Prior to Saturday, the highest number of coronavirus cases in Florida was 19,334 cases on Jan. 7.

See related stories:

• Florida Posts Record Number Of New Coronavirus Cases: CDC
• CDC Recommends Mask In All Schools; DeSantis Will Fight Mandate
• DeSantis To School Boards: You Better Not Mandate Masking Kids
• Tampa Bay Hospitals Sound Alarm With Wave Of Delta Variant Cases
• Many Patch Readers Concerned About FL's COVID Surge: Survey
• If Governor Won't Release COVID-19 Reports, Nikki Fried Will