THURSDAY March 19, 2020
Mathis Report: Commercial real estate leaders urge patience, perspective PAGE 3
jaxdailyrecord.com • 35 cents
Public
legal notices begin on page 1B
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC JACKSONVILLE
‘One dayRecord at a time’ Daily DAVID VUKICH CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER UF HEALTH
TESTING AT TIAA BANK FIELD
Daily Record Daily Record
JACKSONVILLE Hospital prepares and doctor takes own precautions
Tents for a drive-thru coronavirus testing site were set up March 18 in Lot J at TIAA Bank Field. Mayor Lenny Curry announced March 16 that the facility could be operating by the weekend.
UF Health Jacksonville’s Chief Medical Officer David Vukich said working in a hospital during the coronavirus outbreak is unlike anything he’s experienced in his 36 years at the institution. “I think it’s fair to say that nobody in this country, unless they’ve worked with Doctors Without Borders, has experienced anything Vukich like this,” Vukich said. UF Health Jacksonville started making operational changes about four weeks ago, preparing the hospital to treat and contain the virus. It hasn’t seen any positive cases as of the morning of March 18, but Vukich said that could change. He and other hospital leaders meet three times a day to update each other. The hospital is limiting access to visitors, conserving its personal protective equipment like masks and gloves so it doesn’t run out, and setting up a screening area at UF Health North. It also sent medical students home. Vukich, 69, is “concerned for myself and my wife,” and is taking his own precautions to avoid contracting the virus. Older adults are more likely to become seriously sick. But that fear isn’t keeping him or UF Health staff from coming into work. “I have absolutely no intention of stopping or backing out,” he said. “I think it’s the same at the other hospitals. Everybody is showing up for work, despite perhaps having a little bit of fear.”
JACKSONVILLE
A
new seafood restaurant faces
home. The business impact on Northeast
a crisis as sales suddenly
Florida and the U.S. was immediate as
plummet. A grocery store
state and federal officials moved to slow
owner must deal with the
the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
sudden demand for toilet paper, rice and
Business leaders share their stories as they
other staples. A commercial real estate
face the uncertainty of a shutdown with an
broker has visits canceled and must work at
unknown timeframe.
READ THEIR STORIES, PAGE 6
KATIE GARWOOD
Photo by Monty Zickuhr
THE SAILER REPORT
Apprehension, concern in residential real estate circles But there’s also a bit of optimism. PAGE 11 VOLUME 107, NO. 87 • TWO SECTIONS