Two cases of coronavirus in Sarasota among 16 new cases in Florida, officials say
Sixteen more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, including a 70-year-old Massachusetts man who was admitted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital on Tuesday.
The Florida Department Health Department announced the new cases Thursday night. They include the Massachusetts man and a 50-year-old New York man who is also somewhere in Sarasota. At the same time, Sarasota Memorial Hospital released that the Massachusetts man was under its care and in isolation.
It is unknown how either man the virus that causes COVID-19.
“Our team has been preparing for this eventuality for more than a month, and we have trained teams equipped with the resources needed to help keep our community safe,” Sarasota Memorial CEO David Verinder said in a statement. “As more people are diagnosed in our nation, it is important to remember that we are talking about more than numbers. These are people we care for, and care about, and we all need to do our part to protect those most vulnerable in our community.”
The hospital said it will be holding a news conference at the hospital on Friday to provide more details on the situation.
Two people in Manatee County have been among the initial cases in Florida, including a 63-year-old man who was treated at Doctors Hospital in Sarasota and has since been released after recovering from the virus. He hadn’t traveled recently and was the first known community-acquired case in Florida. The second case is a 81-year-old woman who had recently taken a Nile RIver cruise in Egypt.
A 71-year-old Ellenton man currently being treated at Manatee Memorial Hospital has been tested, but the hospital is still awaiting those results.
All 15 new cases in Florida were based on tests performed at one of three Florida Department of Health laboratories in Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville. Testing is also now being performed through the private laboratories LabQuest and Quest Diagnostics.
Several Florida counties see first coronavirus cases
The additional cases include the first two cases in Palm Beach County, which include a 73-year-man who traveled on a Nile River cruise or tour in Egypt and a 74-year-old man who traveled to Europe. Alachua County has its first case, a 24-year-old woman who traveled to Europe. An 83-year-old man in Duval County and a 57-year old man in Clay County are each the first cases in those counties and it is unknown how either man was exposed.
Volusia County now has its third case, a 70-year-old man who also took a Nile River cruise or tour in Egypt.
Miami-Dade County has a second case, announced separately early Friday about two hours after the other 15 cases. The 42-year-old Miami-Dade man was exposed to the virus by being in contact with someone who traveled abroad.
Broward County has five new cases including a 28-year-old woman, 25-year-old woman with recent travel history, a 20-year-old Texas woman who recently traveled to Europe, a 68-year-old Broward woman connected with Port Everglades and a 36-year-old man who recently traveled.
Hillsborough County’s new case is a 49-year-old woman who recently traveled to Europe and Lee County’s new case is a 77-year-old man.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 11:03 PM.
