Coral Gables Mayor Raúl Valdes-Fauli, 77, tests positive for COVID-19
Coral Gables Mayor Raúl Valdes-Fauli, 77, has tested positive for COVID-19.
Local blog Gables Insider reported that the mayor tested positive after receiving his weekly test on Saturday, and was asymptomatic at the time. He received the positive test results Sunday.
Valdes-Fauli’s last public appearance was at the city’s tree lighting ceremony Friday. Coral Gables Vice Mayor Vince Lago was also at the event but tested negative Monday morning. Lago said the mayor plans to participate virtually at Tuesday’s scheduled commission meeting. Lago will attend in person.
“We hope that [Valdes-Fauli] is in good spirits,” Lago said. “He is in our prayers.”
Valdes-Fauli is the latest of Miami’s elected officials to have tested positive for the virus, including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, former Miami-Dade County Mayor and U.S. Rep.-elect Carlos Gimenez and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Florida’s Department of Health on Sunday confirmed 8,436 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,058,074. Also, 93 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident toll to 19,177.
Nearly a quarter of Florida’s new COVID-19 cases come from Miami-Dade. Coral Gables has had about 4,267 of its nearly 51,000 residents test positive over the course of the pandemic, according to state data.
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 1:06 PM.