An alarming new report from Florida confirms the trends across the world indicating that people with disabilities are not just at greater risk of COVID-19 infection but are also more likely to die due to complications associated with the deadly viral infection.
According to the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), 44 people with disabilities served by the nodal disability care agency in Florida have died of COVID-19.
The death toll indicates that nearly 14 percent of the 393 of those who tested positive for the virus have died.
The agency report also shows that 353 workers at group homes or private institutions that care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have tested positive for the virus, and six of those workers have died.
Additionally, 49 employees of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities have tested positive for the virus, including eight who work at the Sunland Center state institution in Marianna and 16 who work at the Tacachale state institution in Gainesville.
Another 17 employees who have tested positive work at what is known as DDDP, a forensic program administered by the agency. Another 68 state employees — 65 of whom work at those three institutions — are isolated and not included in the COVID-19 positive count.
