Reporting of COVID-19 for Health Care Providers and Facilities

Mission:

To protect, promote & improve the health

of all people in Florida through integrated

state, county & community efforts.

Ron DeSantis

Governor

Scott A. Rivkees, MD

State Surgeon General

Vision: To be the Healthiest State in the Nation

Florida Department of Health

Division of Disease Control and Health Protection

Bureau of Epidemiology

4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A-12 • Tallahassee, FL 32399

PHONE: 850/245-4401 • FAX: 850/413-9113

FloridaHealth.gov

Reminder: Reporting of COVID-19 for Health Care Providers and Facilities

June 16, 2021

COVID-19-positive patients and COVID-19 laboratory results are subject to mandatory reporting to the Florida

Department of Health (Department) under section 381.0031, Florida Statutes, Chapter 64D-3, Florida

Administrative Code and Emergency Rule No. 64DER21-8.

All positive, negative, and indeterminate COVID-19 laboratory results must be reported to the Department via

electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) or by FAX within 24 hours. This includes all COVID-19 test types:

polymerase chain reaction (PCR), other RNA, antigen, and antibody tests.

If your facility is conducting in-house COVID-19 testing and needs to establish reporting through a Web portal or

set up an ELR feed with the Department, please begin the enrollment process by visiting our enrollment website:

http://floridahealth.gov/electronicreportingregistration. Until your ELR feed is in the Department’s production, FAX

results to your county health department (www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/disease-reporting-and-

management/chd-epi-contacts/).

Suspected or confirmed outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities or similar group settings such as

assisted living facilities, must be reported immediately and are defined as:

• One or more facility-acquired laboratory-confirmed

COVID-19 cases in a resident.

• Two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in staff with epidemiological linkage

who do not

share a household and are not listed as a close contact

of each other outside of the workplace during

standard case investigation or contact tracing.

Patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 or close contact with a case should be provided the following

resources to help prevent disease transmission:

• Persons with confirmed COVID-19

• Self-isolation guidance

• Contact tracing for COVID-19

• Close contacts to COVID-19

Resources

Preparing for COVID-19 in Nursing Homes

Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel

What you need to know now about COVID-19 in Florida

Laboratory confirmation: detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a clinical specimen using a PCR or antigen test.

Epidemiological linkage: cases were present in the setting during the same time period (e.g. same classroom,

school event, work shift or department) within 14 days prior to the event date and that there is no other more likely

source of exposure for identified cases (e.g. same household).

Close contact: being within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-

hour period starting two days before illness onset or specimen collection date (if asymptomatic) and during the

infectious period.