Florida Governor Declares State Of Emergency Over Coronavirus

TALLAHASSEE, FL — As the number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus continues to rise, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Monday that will free up additional resources to respond to the virus and allow physicians from other states to practice in Florida for the duration of the order.

"The reason why we're doing that, that allows us to create a unified command structure. If also allows — if need be — out-of-state medical personnel to operate in Florida," the governor said at a press conference.

DeSantis said his order will also allow the state to "more swiftly" purchase supplies, including masks, materials and equipment needed to operate field hospitals. Don’t miss updates about precautions in Florida as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

"It allows pharmacists to dispense up to 30-day emergency prescription refills of maintenance medication," DeSantis added. See New Coronavirus Cases Reported In Florida

In addition to the three Department of Health laboratories in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville, the governor said two private testing companies — LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics — now have the capability of performing new coronavirus tests with a physician's referral.

The governor said Florida health officials are working to expand the number of labs that can perform the tests to include those certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, which are federal regulatory standards for laboratories that conduct tests on people.

"That just increases the capability if we have a situation where you have a surge," the governor explained.

A total of 19 Florida residents and one person from California are among Florida's confirmed cases posted on the state Department of Health COVID-19 website. See the county-by-county breakdown at the bottom of this article.

"This is a virus where the vast, vast majority of individuals will not lead to serious health complications," the governor said. "However, it's pretty clear that as people get older, and particularly those people that have a serious underlying medical condition, those are the people who are the most at risk to have serious negative consequence from this virus, including death."

DeSantis noted that the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, which is scheduled to arrive at Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades Wednesday will not be permitted to disembark passengers pending the result of test results for two people aboard the ship.

"Two members of the ship are considered high risk," the governor said. "They are isolated but they are currently not symptomatic. As they get closer to shore, samples will be collected. They'll be tested."

The Regal Princess cruise ship docked in Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades Sunday night after spending most of the day sailing up and down the coast, according to the Associated Press, which reported that two crew members tested negative for the illness. The crew members transferred more than two weeks ago from the Grand Princess cruise ship in California where nearly two dozen people tested positive for the virus, including 19 crew members.

Secretary Mary C. Mayhew of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration said her office has had a "laser beam focus" making sure hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Florida are properly screening visitors, employees and vendors.

"They are screening for illness if anyone has traveled internationally, and certainly more recently, if they have been on a cruise ship," Mayhew said. "They are being given all the resources, standardized signage, to support their efforts to protect their residents and their patients."

Four of Florida's cases do not involve people with a known history of international travel, according to information released Monday by the Florida Department of Health.

Of the 14 Florida residents diagnosed with new coronavirus in the state, eight were women and six were men. The youngest was the 29-year-old Hillsborough County woman who recently traveled to Italy with her sister from California.

The oldest is an 81-year-old Manatee County woman who also traveled outside the country. The remaining Florida patients ranged in age from 54 to 77.

Florida's first two deaths from the new coronavirus were reported Friday involving elderly patients in Santa Rosa County and Lee County, both of whom suffered from serious underlying conditions, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Florida Department of Health issued new guidance Monday that had to be walked back later in the day. The guidance initially advised Floridians who traveled anywhere outside of the country to self-isolate for 14 days following their date of return to the United States.

Officials later revised the guidance to pertain only to hotspots for the new coronavirus. "Those who traveled to a country with a Level 3 advisory must self-isolate for 14 days. If travel was to a country with a Level 2 advisory or cruise, limit interactions for 14 days and notify your local health department if you become ill," the revised guidance states.

Countries with Level 3 advisories for the new coronavirus include China, South Korea, Italy and Iran.

Health officials are also asking Florida residents to self-isolate if they took a Nile River cruise between Feb. 4 through Feb. 18 from the date of their return.

"Several passengers have recently tested positive for COVID-19, including two presumptive positive cases in Florida," officials said of the Nile cruise.

Five of Florida's confirmed cases involve people who had traveled to China and were placed in quarantine by federal officials.

A New York attorney who tested positive for the new coronavirus also traveled to Miami in early February — days or weeks before he became ill. He is not counted in the total because he is a resident of New York. See New York Coronavirus Patient Had Traveled To Miami In February and Coronavirus Outbreak: Tips To Prepare At Home

As of Monday night, there had been a total of 113,582 confirmed cases of the illness and 3,996 deaths around the world, with the vast majority in Hubei, China, according to information compiled by Johns Hopkins University. A total of 62,512 people have recovered from the illness.

COVID-19 can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth, including when someone coughs or sneezes. These droplets may land on objects and surfaces. Other people may contract the virus by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

Symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough and shortness of breath. Symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days following exposure. Most people recover from COVID-19 without special treatment. The elderly and those with underlying medical problems such as high blood pressure, heart problems, obesity and diabetes are more likely to develop serious illness, the health department said.

Public Health Guidance On Virus Prevention:

• Do not go to an emergency room unless absolutely essential. Those with symptoms including a cough, fever, or other respiratory issues are advised to contact their regular doctor first.
• If you are sick, stay home.
• Commit to excellent personal hygiene, including regular hand-washing, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

Monitor the latest information on COVID-19 in Florida and across the United States:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Florida Department of Health

What is the new coronavirus?

The symptoms of the new coronavirus are similar to seasonal influenza, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Both are infectious respiratory illnesses, but they're caused by different viruses.

Both cause fever, cough, body aches and fatigue, and both can result in pneumonia. Both illnesses can sometimes cause vomiting and diarrhea and can be spread from person to person by sneezing, coughing or talking.

Common good-health practices such as frequent hand-washing, covering coughs and staying home from work or school if sick, can help control both illnesses.

Neither respond to antibiotic treatment, but both may be treated by addressing symptoms, such as reducing fever.

There are some distinct differences between COVID-19 and the Flu: Flu is caused by several types of viruses, while COVID-19 is caused by the new coronavirus, which is also called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.

Johns Hopkins said there is some evidence COVID-19 could be airborne "meaning that tiny droplets remaining in the air could cause disease in others even after the ill person is no longer near."

There is no vaccine to protect against the new coronavirus as there is against influenza. Scientists around the world are racing to find a vaccine for the new coronavirus, although none currently exists.

A company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has shipped vials of its novel coronavirus vaccine to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease for further research.

Here is the county-by-county breakdown of the new coronavirus cases involving Florida residents and people visiting Florida:

The Associated Press contributed to this report as did Patch Editor Deb Belt and Megan VerHelst, Patch Staff.