Paul Levine, the father of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, died Thursday from complications due to COVID-19. He was fully vaccinated and 87-years-old.
"It just goes to show this new variant is so pernicious when you're vulnerable," Levine Cava said, the Miami Herald reported.
"We are just one more family affected by COVID."
Levine Cava said her father likely contracted COVID-19 while living at the Palace senior living facility in Kendall, where he was assisted by a fully vaccinated and masked staff. She attributes her father contracting the virus due to an asymptomatic healthcare worker as well as her father's lack of mask-wearing.
"My father was not very compliant with the masking," Levine Cava said.
"He was a very stubborn man. The people around him were always wearing masks."
Levine, also of note, had dementia at the time he was admitted into Baptist hospital. The family did not suspect COVID-19 as a diagnosis.
"We saw him through the glass door of his room," Levine Cava said. "We were not allowed to go in."
Levine died Thursday. A day later, the Miami-Dade County Commission passed a resolution from a former state Sen. René Garcia to allow family members to visit critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Upon Levine's passing, Levine Cava said her father did not seem aware of his surroundings after he was admitted to the hospital's COVID ward. But Levine Cava added, "everybody we talked to was very kind. But they were busy."
"The COVID ICU is not a place for visitors. I do have great sympathy for the position Sen. Garcia is taking."
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