Mayors of Miami, Miami-Dade self-isolating after event with Brazil aide with COVID-19

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez both began isolating themselves Thursday and took COVID19 tests after word spread that an aide to the president of Brazil tested positive for coronavirus after he attended a Miami reception with the head of state and local elected officials.

“I’m currently self-isolating as I await the Florida Health Department’s recommendation as to whether I need to be tested for Coronavirus (COVID-19),” Gimenez wrote on Twitter at 3:44 p.m. His office later confirmed the 66-year-old mayor was awaiting results from a COVID-19 test. Those results are expected as early as tomorrow morning.

Gimenez began his self-isolating precautions shortly after standing next to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a Miami press conference. The county mayor, one of the most powerful officials in Florida given his administrative powers over the government of the state’s most populous government, shifted his workday to his Coconut Grove home. County tech workers were assembling teleconference equipment so Gimenez could communicate by video with aides as he oversees Miami-Dade’s newly declared coronavirus emergency.

“The Mayor has gone home in an abundance of caution and that he is awaiting direction from the health department,” said spokeswoman Patricia Abril. “Mayor Gimenez is still working ... and will be working remotely.”

In Miami, workers prepared for a deep scrubbing of City Hall, home to Suarez’s office as Miami’s top elected official. Though not the top administrator — that power falls to City Manager Art Noriega — Suarez is the city’s senior political leader and voice of Miami’s government.

Suarez will be isolated in his house, also in Coconut Grove, while his wife and children stay with extended family.

“I will work from home,” he said.

Suarez said that at the health department’s request, he was tested for COVID-19 Thursday. He should have results of the test on Friday. He said he was not sure if a negative test result would end his quarantine.

The testing of Miami-Dade’s most prominent elected leaders, who both said they felt fine, comes amid a statewide shortage of COVID19 tests .

Suarez learned of the COVID-19 case in the Brazil delegation just before Thursday’s City Commission adjourned around noon. After calling the county health department, Suarez told the Miami Herald he has been advised to self-quarantine for two weeks.

“I don’t have any symptoms.They recommend self-quarantine ... if I have any symptoms, I’ll certainly get tested, just like anybody else would,” he said. “But I’m not certain the guy was in the room with me or that I had any contact with him.”

Suarez, who sat on the dais during the morning session of the commission meeting with Miami’s five other elected officials, saw news reports about Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro’s press secretary hours after he announced plans to declare a state of emergency in the city of Miami. Given the advice to isolate himself, Suarez made the announcement by video instead of in person as he had planned.

He’ll be isolated in his Coconut Grove home while his wife and children stay with extended family. “I will work from home,” he said.

Suarez said that at the health department’s request, he was tested for COVID-19 Thursday. He should have results of the test on Friday.

He said he was not sure if a negative test result would end his quarantine.

Gimenez also said he did not have any symptoms and said in the morning he didn’t think he had any physical contact with Fabio Wajngarten, Bolsonaro ‘s press secretary. Wajngarten reported flu-like symptoms a day after a Miami reception he attended with Bolsonaro and senior Republicans in Miami, including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, Suarez and Gimenez. Gimenez said he shook Bolsonaro’s hand, but didn’t think he interacted with Wajngarten. Wajngarten has since been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to press reports.

Scott’s office announced Thursday morning the senator was entering self-isolation because of the Bolsonaro reception in Miami. Suarez followed suit, and Gimenez announced he was heading home after that.

Abril said the county is waiting to hear what Gimenez’s potential exposure would mean for the circle of top county administrators who have been in close contact with the mayor. Gimenez also attended a meeting with DeSantis before Thursday’s press conference.

Wajngarten’s illness showed just how quickly COVID19 complications can spread across all levels of government, and the mixed reactions even minor interactions can bring.

President Donald Trump posed for a photo with Wajngarten at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend. The White House said Trump wasn’t being tested, citing minimal interaction. Doral issued a press release Thursday saying councilwoman Claudia Mariaca would be self-isolating after taking a photo with Bolsonaro.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 4:35 PM.