They refused to quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, police say. They ended up in a Keys jail
Two Key West residents who tested positive for COVID-19 were jailed Wednesday night after defying a quarantine order from the state health department, the city manager said.
Jose Antonio Freire Interian, 24, and Yohana Anahi Gonzalez, 26, were arrested at 6:27 p.m. at an apartment in the 1800 block of Harris Avenue in the island’s New Town neighborhood.
Freire posted on his Facebook page July 14 that he had tested positive for the virus, urging anyone who had been in contact with him in the past week to get tested.
But he and Gonzalez failed to follow orders to remain at home and wear face masks around others, according to an isolation order issued to both on July 21 by the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County that directed them to stay at home for 14 days.
Their quarantine was set to end July 31, police said.
“Because you have failed to voluntarily remain in your residence, this order is necessary to protect the public health,” according to the DOH orders.
On Wednesday, the property manager at their apartment complex reported to Key West police that the two were not following the order, saying Freire had walked his dog, gone to the grocery store and washed his car. Both had been seen leaving and returning home without wearing face masks, according to a police report.
The property manager gave police some video footage of the couple. It was taken by a surveillance camera located in a common area of the complex.
“An officer took the video to the judge and the judge signed the warrant,” Key West City Manager Greg Veliz said.
The two were both locked up at the Stock Island Detention Center on Wednesday night.
Freire was released at 12:30 a.m. Thursday after posting a $1,000 bond.
Gonzalez was released at 11:18 a.m. Thursday after posting a $1,000 bond, according to jail records.
Freire and Gonzalez were each arrested on two misdemeanor charges: violating the state law that requires isolation or quarantine in a public health emergency and violating emergency management. Both are second-degree misdemeanors, which are punishable by up to 60 days in jail.
On Thursday, the Florida Keys had 1,230 known cases of COVID-19 and six deaths, the state health department said.
.jpeg "gonzale_fitted (1).jpeg")
In Key West, 541 cases have been reported since the start of the pandemic. Key Largo has the second most known cases with 181. Marathon has 134.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Adam Linhardt said both Gonzalez and Freire were kept isolated from other inmates in “negative pressure” rooms where the air is not recirculated into other areas of the jail.
“The whole idea is to keep them apart from the general population,” Linhardt said. “We’ve had people in those rooms before we’ve suspected of having it. If they show symptoms, that’s where people are quarantined.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 6:48 AM.
%20Cropped%20(1).jpg)