Florida resident in Washington tests positive for coronavirus, DeSantis says
A Florida resident in Washington state tested positive for novel coronavirus, the third person who lives in Florida to test positive for the highly contagious respiratory disease, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.
DeSantis said the Washington State Department of Health notified Florida officials that the person was self isolating in Washington. He provided few details about the case, not disclosing where in Florida the person lived or anything about their condition.
There have been four Florida-related cases so far, but one is a California resident who is being counted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in that state’s tally.
“We believe it was someone who was traveling in Asia, probably in China,” DeSantis told reporters at the Orange County Department of Health.
The disclosure from Washington state officials came a day after New York health officials failed to notify Florida about a Westchester County man who tested positive for novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, and had recently traveled to Miami. Florida officials told the Miami Herald on Tuesday they first heard about the man from media reports.
On Wednesday, the state Department of Health said the CDC was handling the investigation of the Westchester man because it involved plane travel.
“If the CDC identifies someone on the plane who is currently in Florida, DOH will be notified,” a spokesperson for the department said. “At this time, we have not received any additional information from the CDC related to this particular case.”
As of its last update, on Tuesday, the state said it was waiting on 16 pending testing results, 24 people have tested negative, and officials are monitoring more than 245 people.
There have been daily developments on the new strain of coronavirus since late Sunday, when the state announced the first two Florida cases. One is a woman in her 20s from Hillsborough County. She had traveled from northern Italy, where there is an outbreak, and passed through Tampa International Airport. She is self isolating at home.
A man in his 60s in Manatee County was hospitalized in late February with other underlying conditions and was diagnosed after showing symptoms of pneumonia. He has not traveled to countries with known outbreaks, according to state officials.
A third case, announced Tuesday, is connected to the Tampa-area woman. That case, a California resident, is also self isolating in Hillsborough County. State officials have been unclear about whether there is a connection to the woman in her 20s but said the California resident also made a trip to Italy.
The CDC is counting that person as a California case, DeSantis said Tuesday.
There are simple steps people can take to reduce their risk of getting infected, like frequent hand washing, for more than 20 seconds, and staying home when sick.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Florida resident in Washington tests positive for coronavirus, DeSantis says."
