https://www.news4jax.com/news/local...presumptive-positive-coronavirus-cases-found/
LLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced late Sunday that two people had become the first in his state to test “presumptively positive” for the coronavirus and ordered his top health officer to declare a statewide public health emergency.
DeSantis said in a statement that the cases arose in the counties of Manatee and Hillsborough. His announcement did not identify the individuals, specifics of their medical conditions or any routes of possible exposure. COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family.
But the state Health Department said the Hillsborough patient had a history of travel to Italy, which has been among the countries hardest hit by the spread of the coronavirus outside Asia.
Authorities said the Manatee patient had not been in any of the countries currently identified for restricted travel by federal authorities.
State officials said both people sought health care and would be under isolation until cleared by public health officials. Both were identified as adults, though their ages weren’t released. Officials also tweeted that they are monitoring others who have been in contact with the two patients.
The governor’s announcement said he was
issuing an executive order effective immediately directing the state health officer and surgeon general, Dr. Scott Rivkees, to declare a public health emergency in Florida. He authorized Rivkees to take “any action necessary to protect the public health.”
Rivkees subsequently said his department was moving ahead with those plans while “working directly with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” at the federal level and with local medical providers.
Rivkee’s own statement said the immediate steps were being taken “to ensure these individuals receive the proper treatment and that anyone who has come into contact with them is following the necessary protocols, limiting or stopping any further spread.”
The governor designated the Florida Department of Health as the lead state agency to coordinate emergency responses and to actively monitor all those with apparent or suspected infections for a period of at least 14 days — or until tests turn up negative.
The governor was expected to hold news conferences on Monday both in Tampa and Miami, said his spokeswoman, Helen Ferre. You can watch his remarks in Tampa live at 10:30 a.m. both on Channel 4 and News4Jax.com.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio issued a statement after the first cases were found in the state:
"The health and safety of every Floridian, especially the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, remain my highest priority. I will continue to work with the Trump Administration and Governor DeSantis to ensure our state has the resources and information it needs. I am working with my colleagues in Congress on a funding package to ensure Florida has every available federal resource to respond to the coronavirus, and I look forward to its swift passage in the coming weeks.”
The Florida developments came on a day when health officials in Washington state confirmed a second person there had died from the new strain of coronavirus — a man in his 70s from a nursing facility near Seattle where dozens of people were sick and had been tested for the virus.
It also came as state and local authorities around the country stepped up testing for the illness as the number of new cases grew nationwide, with new infections announced in Washington state, as well as California, Illinois, Rhode Island and New York.
Three Florida Department of Health labs are now able to test for the new coronavirus, cutting wait times significantly for results, state officials had announced Saturday.
The Florida health officials said in an email that labs in Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami can conduct the tests, which previously had to be sent to federal labs. They said that would mean results should be available 24 to 48 hours afterward — instead of within days.
“The most important thing is it will bring down the average testing time,” said Deputy Health Secretary Shamarial Roberson in a telephone interview. “It helps address this in a more efficient time.”
Florida officials had been awaiting approval for one component of the test from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Roberson said. That approval came Friday.
Sunday’s announcement comes a day after health officials and DeSantis said no cases of the virus had been reported in Florida, but four people who may have been exposed in China and exhibited possible symptoms were awaiting test results. Another 15 similar people tested negative.
In addition, more than 150 Floridians who have returned from China but have not shown symptoms are being monitored until the two-week incubation period passes and asked not to have contact with others, the officials said.
For weeks, Florida health officials had declined to release information about possible infections, citing privacy concerns, but reversed themselves Friday amid mounting questions and political pressure to be more forthcoming to head off any public panic.
The development on the state lab testing was first reported by the Miami Herald. Florida had been waiting for federal officials to allow them to do their own lab testing.
). They live in Hillsborough County, where there is now a confirmed case. They are not worried about catching it. They are more worried about the fear and panic that is sure to show up there today and in the coming weeks. 
As of right now the risk of getting the virus is very low, as is the chance of dying from it. Think about it, there are a billion people in China. A BILLION. So yes it is very sad and unsettling that tens of thousands caught the virus and nearly 3,000 there died from it, but we are talking about a very small portion of their population. If you are elderly or immune compromised, make decisions based on your own personal circumstance. Everyone else should wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and try to stay home if you’re sick. Get updates from the CDC website, not the media who loves to blow everything out of proportion because that’s what makes them money! Just live your life and don’t buy into the panic until there is really something to panic about. 
