Four Floridians test ‘presumptive positive’ for coronavirus. Cases spread across state
Four people in Florida have tested presumptive positive for COVID-19, the Florida Department of Health announced Saturday, bringing to 10 the number of cases among Florida residents.
The cases are throughout Florida in Lee County, Charlotte County, Okaloosa County and Volusia County. The individuals have been isolated and are being cared for, the health department said.
The people from Okaloosa and Volusia counties were a 61-year-old and 66-year old woman, respectively, who both have a history of recent travel outside the U.S., the state said.
Presumptive positive means the test results have not yet been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Saturday, the department also advised anyone who traveled on a river cruise on the Nile River in Egypt in February to self-isolate for 14 days from the date they returned to the United States.
These announcements come a day after officials confirmed the first deaths in the state caused by the new coronavirus — one of which was a Lee County resident. The other fatality was a man in his 70s in Santa Rosa County.
Two presumptive positive cases were also announced in Broward County late Friday.
Health officials have not released any additional information about the new presumptive positive cases.
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 100,000 people in more than 70 countries, including the United States. There are 340 confirmed cases in the United States, according to John Hopkins University, which is tracking the cases globally.
As of Saturday, 16 Florida residents have tested positive for COVID-19, including five Florida cases that have been repatriated from elsewhere and a non-Florida resident, according to Florida’s Department of Health website.
The department also said 88 tests are still pending while 100 have delivered a negative test result, as of Saturday afternoon.
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Four Floridians test ‘presumptive positive’ for coronavirus. Cases spread across state."
