TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke on Saturday regarding the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus in the state.
DeSantis spoke from the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.
The governor described the latest measures being taken to combat the outbreak.
“I’m moving the EOC to level 1,” he said. “I’m directing the Department of Health to hire extra epidemiologists and other health staff for the duration of the emergency.”
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WATCH LIVE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks on COVID-19 outbreak from State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.
Posted by WPLG Local 10 on Saturday, March 14, 2020
Data provided by the Florida Department of Health shows that South Florida is ground zero for residents diagnosed inside the state, with Broward County seeing the majority of cases.
“Broward County has the most cases that’s linked to international travel,” he said. “When you have unlinked cases, that’s evidence of community spread.”
DeSantis added that they are monitoring the three unlinked cases in Broward County, and investigations into those cases are ongoing.
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Totals to date, according to the governor and health officials, are 24 in Broward County, 11 of which related to international travel and six related to Port Everglades. There are now four deaths statewide.
In Miami-Dade County there are eight positive cases and five in Palm Beach County.
What is of note is that some of Broward County’s new cases are younger people, under the age of 21.
Those cases are all travel-related, according to health officials, associated with travel to Europe.
The Florida DOH confirmed late Saturday that one of the cases in Lee County, a 77-year-old resident, has died.
The case was not travel-related.
Saturday afternoon, Nova Southeastern University confirmed to Local 10 News there are a total of six positive COVID-19 cases involving individuals with an NSU-affiliation, all of whom traveled to Ireland recently.