Is there community spread of coronavirus in Florida? DeSantis tries to clear it up
At a press conference Wednesday Gov. Ron DeSantis said he spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading infectious disease expert on the federal Coronavirus Task Force, who plainly stated at a briefing Tuesday that Florida is one of four states with “community spread” of the disease and therefore elevated risk.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines community spread as: “People have been infected with the virus in an area, including some who are not sure how or where they became infected.”
The multiple cases of coronavirus in Broward County tied to a cruise services company at Port Everglades were not evidence of community spread, which DeSantis said was what Fauci referred to when he listed Florida among the other states that have community spread of the virus.
“I spoke with [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] Director Robert Redfield and Dr. Fauci last night,” DeSantis said. “Florida was identified as one of the four states and it was said there was ‘community spread.’ Because that three-person cluster in Broward could be linked to the cruise ship, that technically doesn’t qualify as community spread, which would be multiple people, where we don’t know where they got it from. So we haven’t necessarily gotten to that point yet.”
In Florida, the majority of the people in the state who have tested positive for the coronavirus traveled overseas. But four patients in Broward and a Manatee County man each have no history of visiting places where there have been outbreaks of coronavirus internationally, according to the Florida Department of Health.
How the first of those three people connected to Port Everglades came in contact with the virus has not been made known if, indeed, public health officials have that information. The state has not said publicly how the Manatee man might have contracted the novel coronavirus.
The number of known cases of COVID-19 in Florida spiked late Tuesday night. The Florida Department of Health announced one case in Nassau County, three in Collier County, two in Pinellas County and one in Pasco County, bringing the total number of known cases among Florida residents who are currently in the state to 21. There are 23 cases in Florida total.
DeSantis said people who were diagnosed with coronavirus and had contact with someone who was traveling abroad or via a cruise are considered a “travel-related” case, and not considered community spread.
He said the state is testing “consistent with CDC guidelines” and that there is no lack of testing being done. He did say that he supports the state Department of Health looking into testing people for coronavirus during routine doctors’ visits, even if symptoms are mild.
“The issue is if somebody has a little bit of a cough or a very mild fever, they are not going to rush into the doctor’s office,” he said. “We’re concerned about who may be carrying it who doesn’t seem like an obvious case to be carrying it.”
DeSantis added that while there is no community spread identified by the state, the spread of the virus is a “dynamic situation.”
“And we’re prepared to respond as the facts change,” he said.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 7:40 PM.