Third Florida coronavirus surfaces in Hillsborough County in sister of infected woman
A third case of novel coronavirus was found in Florida when the sister of a Hillsborough County woman who already has the virus tested presumptive positive, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.
Health officials learned Tuesday morning that the 20-year-old woman’s sister tested “presumptive positive,” meaning the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet confirmed the test. The sister is a California woman but is isolating herself in Florida, DeSantis said.
The sisters traveled to Italy before returning to the United States, DeSantis said. The area around Milan, Italy, was the site of Europe’s first outbreak of the virus.
The Hillsborough woman’s roommate has so far not shown any symptoms of the virus, known as COVID-19, DeSantis said. The roommate is also self-isolating.
The governor’s spokeswoman, Helen Ferre, told the Miami Herald on Tuesday that she did not anticipate additional information on the case being released that day.
“What’s important to know is that it is someone who resided in the same location, the same residence,” Ferre said. “It’s not a random chance of someone catching, it’s pretty clear.”
Ferre added that the person who tested positive shared the same kitchen and bathroom with her sister, who the CDC confirmed tested positive for COVID-19.
In addition to the Manatee and Hillsborough cases, the state said it was waiting on 16 pending test results, 24 people have tested negative, and officials are monitoring more than 245 people, as of Tuesday.
DeSantis declared a state of emergency on Sunday following the two confirmed positive tests — the Hillsborough woman and a Manatee County man in his 60s. The man was hospitalized with symptoms of pneumonia.
State health officials expect more people to test positive for COVID-19, and state lawmakers are already discussing assigning additional resources — including money — to combat the virus. DeSantis has spoken with House and Senate leaders about possibly hiring more people.
“I think the concern is if you have a surge situation in a part of the state, we want to make sure we have enough personnel there to be able to help administer that,” he said.
The amount could be between $10 million and $20 million, Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said Tuesday. The money would have to be assigned before the legislative session’s scheduled end on March 13.
In Washington, at an off-camera press conference with reporters on Tuesday evening in the White House briefing room, the Coronavirus Task Force was asked about a Miami Herald report recounting a Florida resident stuck with a massive bill after being tested for the flu to rule out coronavirus.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said that, while she “could not speak to the specifics of that case,” all basic healthcare plans, Medicare and Medicaid would cover testing.
“We’ll look at it, though,” said Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the task force, nodding to his team.
DeSantis reassured the public that symptoms from the virus are less severe for young and healthy adults, although he cautioned people who are showing symptoms against entering nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.
“If you don’t have an underlying health condition and you’re not elderly, so far, you’ve seen very few serious cases,” DeSantis said.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 12:56 PM.
