Florida is now under a Public Health Emergency following positive tests for 2 cases of coronavirus. GovernerFlorida is now under a Public Health Emergency following positive tests for 2 cases of coronavirus. Florida Governor Ron Desantis is scheduled to hold a live press conference at 10:30am on Monday to address the health crisis and discuss the reported cases. Governor DeSantis made the Public Health Emergency announcement yesterday after two Tampa Bay residents tested positive at state labs.
The Department of Health says the overall threat to the public is low. Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees says we are at the critical early moments of the outbreak, but this is the scenario public health officials plan for every day.
The two Tampa Bay residents may be the first in Florida to come down with coronavirus. The Florida Department of Health have announced a Hillsborough County and Manatee County resident are presumed positive, but that's not been confirmed by the CDC.
The Hillsborough County resident has a history of travel to Italy, where there have been over a thousand confirmed cases, but the Manatee County resident has no such travel history.
The two are being isolated, and Governor Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Rivkees will be in Tampa and Miami today for an update.
There's now a call center activated Monday through Friday to answer questions about Coronavirus and get confirmed information through the Florida Department of Health. That number is 866-779-6121.
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Waiting for Governor Desantis to begin a 10:30am press conference address the public health emergency: