The Department of Health of Florida confirmed the first two deaths from coronavirus in the state.
The two people who died were 70 years old and had traveled abroad. The announcement raises the death toll in the United States of the new coronavirus strain to 17, including 13 in the state of Washington and one in California.
“@HealthyFla has announced 3 allegedly positive new cases of Florida # COVID19: 2 in Broward County that are isolated and 1 Lee County that has passed away. A previously announced case in Santa Rosa County has also passed away,” says the tweet. .
.@HealthyFla has announced 3 new presumptive positive Florida # COVID19 cases: 2 in Broward County that are isolated and 1 in Lee County that is deceased. A previously-announced case in Santa Rosa County is also deceased. For # COVID19 updates, visit https://t.co/e1S8bGG26U
– Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) March 7, 2020
One of Florida’s deaths was that of a man with underlying health problems in Santa Rosa County in the Panhandle of Florida, according to the statement. The health department added that the second death was that of an elderly person in Lee County, in the Fort Myers area.
The statement gave no immediate indications of where the two had traveled or if officials were trying to determine who they were in contact with.
Helen Aguirre Ferre, a spokeswoman for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, confirmed the deaths and other new cases in South Florida on Twitter. He promised in his tweet that updates would be provided regularly as they became available.
The spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an email request from The Associated Press for more information.
As of Friday, Florida authorities said seven people in the state have tested positive for COVID-19. They said six are Florida residents and the seventh is a non-resident.
One of the new cases was only confirmed after the death of the person, according to the statement. The other two cases that were confirmed positive on Friday were a 65-year-old man and a 75-year-old man, both in Broward County, home of Fort Lauderdale. The state health department said both men have been isolated until public health officials clear them.
Officials had previously announced that five Florida residents who had been traveling in China have also been quarantined elsewhere after testing positive for the virus.
Officials continued on Friday that the risk to those in the state remains low, since most cases have been concentrated in the state of Washington and California, where a cruise ship is being held off the coast after One passenger on a previous trip died and others became infected.
But at least in Miami, city officials have canceled two major music festivals for fears that mass events could spread the new virus more widely. It is unclear whether state officials will implement other drastic measures before Florida’s busy spring break season later this month.
The previous Friday, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, he had asked state legislators for $ 25 million for health officials to use immediately in the state’s response to the coronavirus.
DeSantis said he expects Florida to receive at least $ 27 million from the federal government, along with an additional $ 500,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to immediately cover costs such as laboratory equipment and personnel.
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