Broward County patient brings total Florida-related coronavirus cases to 20

A 69-year-old woman in Broward County became the latest COVID-19 coronavirus case in Florida.

On Tuesday morning, the Florida Department of Health announced the female tested positive for the coronavirus and is currently isolated. She is the 20th case for Florida. City officials in Port Everglades, which is within Broward County, said it is the third positive case in the city.

"All three cases are connected to or employed by Metro Cruise Services – a company that operates at Port Everglades," according to a media advisory.

On Monday night, the Florida Department of Health announced a 60-year-old woman in Volusia County, who had a recent history of travel and is currently isolated, tested positive for the coronavirus. She is the 19th case for Florida.

Two Florida patients have passed away: a 71-year-old man in Santa Rosa County and a 77-year-old woman in Lee County. Both had a known history of international travel.

The Tampa Bay area reported the first two coronavirus cases in Florida, including a 63-year-old man in Manatee County who had no known history of international travel. He has since been released from the Doctor’s Hospital of Sarasota.

RELATED: COVID-19 prompts Florida to ask travelers from 'high-risk' countries to self-quarantine

Hours before announcing the latest coronavirus case, Governor Ron DeSantis declared a coronavirus state of emergency for Florida. The move would allow him to broaden his powers in response to the virus, and would allow him to deploy National Guard troops if necessary.

On Monday, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL 16th District) said more must be done to be prepared, saying there is a need for faster local testing for COVID-19 and said county health departments in Florida have been silenced at the state level. He suggests there should be a unified and consistent message statewide. 

"People want to be educated, there’s a lot of misinformation. There’s a lot of good information out there. They want accurate information and full transparency," he said. 

Nationwide, 26 people have died and the U.S. reports more than 600 cases. Worldwide, there have been more than 113,000 cases and nearly 4,000 deaths. About 62,000 people who have come down with the virus have recovered.

FL-DOH lists the following statistics for current cases within the state

Positive Cases of COVID-19:
14 – Florida residents 
5 – Florida Cases repatriated
1 – Non-Florida resident

*Florida Cases Repatriated: The United States Department of State officially coordinated the return of a person living in Florida to the United States and those persons are isolated at a federally designated site until healthy. A repatriated case is when the United States Department of State officially coordinates the return of a Florida resident to the United States. 

Deaths: 2 Florida residents

Number of Negative Test Results: 222
Number of Pending Testing Results: 155
Number of People Currently Being Monitored: 319
Number of People Monitored to Date: 1,161

If you feel sick

The Florida Department of Health has opened a COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Agents will answer questions Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours.

LINKS: 

Florida's COVID-19 website- CDC U.S. government coronavirus website

CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA:

What you need to knowTampa Bay health departments

Map of all known COVID-19 cases

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