In a small town, two people are dead from coronavirus. And Key West is in mourning
Behind the fancy art galleries, the bottomless mimosas and the $5-T shirt shops, Key West is just a small town at heart.
People gather at the Dairy Queen on hot nights. Or beside the ocean at the piers. Every December, the holiday parade brings out every soul in town.
Gossip is passed along on what locals call “the Coconut Telegraph,” and at more than 120 miles away from the mainland, the island has an almost dated, Mayberry-feel..
So locals already knew of the first two COVID-19-related deaths before the Florida Department of Health released the reports.
Using Facebook, Key West people took to their phones and computers to mourn two men and react to the deadly coronavirus. It no longer felt so far away.
The first to succumb to the illness was Keith White, 55, a longtime resident. He had worked as a chef , helped people who were struggling with addiction. He was known for his boom box collection and for making a mean banana pudding. His death was reported Thursday night.
Friends called him a man of faith and serenity.
“He was very peaceful,” said City Commissioner Clayton Lopez. “He was big. If you saw him and didn’t know him you might have been intimidated. But he was always a big teddy bear.”
Ronald David Sweeting was 56 and known as Dave. He spent his birthday in a hospital bed on March 26 and died Saturday.
Sweeting had worked at a New Town liquor store and was a Key West native, fondly called a “Conch.”
Sweeting, a Miami Marlins season ticket holder, loved playing baseball so much that when his knees finally gave out and he couldn’t play first base or shortstop anymore, he became an umpire for local games. He left two daughters, a son and five grandchildren along with his parents.
Both died at Lower Keys Medical Center.
And in a moment, the COVID-19 pandemic raging in many faraway places, struck Key West in its heart. Fear seemed to grow overnight.
“It’s like being on a battlefield and there’s a sniper,” said David Sweeting, 77, about the pandemic that claimed his oldest son. “You don’t see the sniper but he’s got you in the scope. You can’t see it. You don’t know when it’s going to happen.”
On Monday morning, Monroe County reported 45 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, adding one more case since the day before. The newest case is in Key Largo, but the most cases are by far in Key West, which has 24.
Bob Eadie, administrator for the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County, said Monday morning that both White and Sweeting had “serious underlying conditions before they were exposed to COVID-19.”
Eadie also said the county’s efforts to keep the virus from spreading through the island chain appear to be showing positive results, and that most people who have tested positive are recovering.
“The good news is we are starting to see some of our positive people have no symptoms and having spent the required time in isolation,” Eadie said during a conference call with other government officials and business leaders.
“At least we are seeing we have more that are recovering or having no serious long-term side effects than others,” Eadie said.
Eadie also said more COVID-19 tests, which he noted last week were in short supply in the Keys, are on their way. These include new, much sought-after rapid-response tests
“By the middle of April, Lower Keys Medical Center will have a rapid testing system in place,” Eadie said. “Mariners and Fishermen’s [hospitals] have access to Baptist, and Baptist should have new rapid testing available by Friday.”
The Sweeting family goes back generations and can trace its lineage to the Bahamas, said Monroe County Commissioner Craig Cates, who knew David Sweeting personally.
“His daughter and my daughter graduated high school together,” said Monroe County Commissioner Craig Cates, a Conch himself.
Cates said the Keys for the most part are doing the right things to help prevent the spread.
“The vast majority of the community is taking this very serious,” he said. “When this happens and a local person passes away, it makes you think very hard to do the right thing.”
White was originally from West Memphis, Arkansas, but became a fixture in Key West. He went by “Mistah Keith,” the nickname listed on his Facebook page, where one woman posted it felt like one big light had gone out.
‘You feel like he had struggled a lot and got to the other side,” said Loretta Adkins, a friend. “He always made time for you. He was never too busy to help somebody. People gravitated toward him.”
White’s immediate family could not be reached for comment. His daughter, Imeka Williams, told WPLG-Channel 10 that she has been overwhelmed by condolences from those who loved him.
“He had an impact on a lot of people’s lives,” she said. “They’ve been reaching out to me.”
For now, David Sweeting hopes his grief will send a message to the community.
“They have to take it seriously,” he said. “Some people wear face masks, some people don’t. This is nothing to laugh at.”
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