FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Public health officials announced on Tuesday night there are eight new positive COVID-19 cases in Florida -- where two COVID-19 patients have already died in Santa Rosa and Lee counties.
With the eight new cases in Nassau, Alachua, Collier, Pinellas and Pasco counties, Florida’s total count of positive cases of COVID-19 increased to 28.
Four of the 28 patients are in Broward County. The rest of them are in Manatee, Hillsborough, Charlotte, Okaloosa and Volusia counties.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases, told Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday the COVID-19 cases in Florida are largely related to international travel, according to Helen Aguirre, a spokeswoman for DeSantis’ office.
The official tally includes 21 Florida residents, 5 patients repatriated from China and 2 non-Florida residents, including a new patient in Alachua, who is a 68-year-old woman visiting from Georgia.
Most of the COVID-19 patients in Florida are in their 60s and 70s. The youngest Florida residents who are ill are a 29-year-old woman in Hillsborough County and a 46-year-old man in Pasco County.