Florida Governor Reports 8 Residents With Coronavirus

MIAMI, FL — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed Thursday a total of eight Florida residents have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus but five people were in quarantine and do not pose a public health threat to the state.

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. But he is not counted in the total because he is a resident of New York.

The sister of the Hillsborough County woman who tested positive for the illness also tested positive but she is a resident of California and therefore not included in the Florida total. See New York Coronavirus Patient Had Traveled To Miami In February and Coronavirus Outbreak: Tips To Prepare At Home

"There was a Florida resident in Washington state who had tested positive," DeSantis told reporters during a press conference in the Florida Panhandle. Don’t miss updates about precautions in Florida as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

"We’ve since found out that there is a total of five Florida residents who had been traveling from China, were quarantined per the federal government, have tested positive," he said. "Now, they’re not going to be released from quarantine until they test negative. So we don’t anticipate that having any impact on the people actually living in Florida."

He said he learned that an elderly man in Santa Rosa County, Florida tested presumptive positive as of Thursday.

"That is somebody who did have underlying conditions and then is — I think he’s over the age of 70 — and had been doing international travel," DeSantis said.

In addition to the Hillsborough woman, who is in her 20s, DeSantis said earlier this week that a man in his 60s from Manatee County tested positive. He is hospitalized with pneumonia.

DeSantis said he has confidence in the coronavirus tests performed at three Florida Department of Health laboratories — one in Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami — but he hopes the state will receive additional test kits from the federal government sooner rather than later.

"This is a pretty sophisticated test,” the governor said. “It’s not as simple as like getting tested for strep throat. It takes a little bit of time because the processes involved are a little bit more advanced. But we certainly believe that would help things, especially if we’re in a situation where we have a surge of people that are showing up with symptoms. To be able to do that local testing would make a big, big difference."

With 125 million visitors to Florida each year, DeSantis said the overall risk to visitors and residents remains low.

"I think that’s really the risk to the country as a whole still remains low," he said. "I think people should just take proper precautions. If you’re somebody that has a real serious condition already, you should view it differently than if you are 25-years-old and don’t have any problems."

Florida Department of Health officials told Patch they spoke with New York officials regarding the case of the 50-year-old Westchester County attorney who traveled to Miami but said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is responsible for investigations related to the attorney's air travel and anyone who came in "close proximity" to him.

"If the CDC identifies someone on the plane who is currently in Florida, DOH will be notified," Florida officials said.

DeSantis has already declared a health emergency in Florida. Updates regarding the new coronavirus are posted on the Florida Health website.

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.

As of Thursday, there had been a total of 97,894 confirmed cases of the illness and 3,348 deaths around the world, with the vast majority in Hubei, China, according to information compiled by Johns Hopkins University. A total of 53,826 people have recovered from the illness.

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.

DeSantis said health officials are paying particular attention to the state's nursing homes and assisted-living communities.

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.

Patch Editor Deb Belt and Megan VerHelst, Patch Staff, contributed to this report.