In the Florida Keys, 21 people have been tested for COVID-19 so far, state says

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As of Tuesday morning, the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the Florida Keys is zero.

Twenty-one people in the Florida Keys have been tested, and, while the majority of those test results are pending, the top state health official in the county does not believe the disease is being spread on a community bases in the island chain.

“It’s been going on long enough, and enough tests have been conducted, we can say it’s not being spread here on a community basis,” Bob Eadie, Department of Health in Monroe County administrator, said during an online news conference Tuesday morning.

Community spread is defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as cases in which people have been infected and it is not known how or where they were exposed.

Of the 21 tests, five have come back negative for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and 16 test results are pending, said county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood.

Even if none of those tests come back positive for the virus, inevitably the Keys will have confirmed COVID-19 cases, Eadie said, especially because the criteria for screening has loosened as more private labs have been approved to conduct tests.

“I don’t think it will last forever, but for now, the number is zero,” he said.

Until recently, screening was being conducted exclusively at three state public health laboratories. Late last week, private labs started to process tests, so more people began to get screened. As a result, the number of confirmed cases increased, a trend that public health officials expect to continue.

On Tuesday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida has 192 confirmed cases, and 173 of those who tested positive are state residents.

The people who have been tested in the Keys so far met state health department-determined criteria, which includes they just came back from traveling abroad, they came in contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19 or they had unexplained lower respiratory distress, Eadie said.

Now, people’s private health care providers can recommend they get tested. But Eadie said he feels the level of screening in the Keys has been adequate so far.

“Testing is not and has not really ever been an issue,” he said.

Meanwhile, the tourism-dependent Keys are preparing to deal with the economic fallout from the virus and government decisions that have been made to try to stop it before it overwhelms the healthcare system.

A big blow came in the form of an order from DeSantis’ office mandating all bars and nightclubs cease operations for 30 days starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

“It’s a very fine line to walk,” Monroe County Mayor Heather Carruthers said. “Obviously, we understand how people make money in this community.”

Restaurants can stay open under the executive order, but they must space seating six feet apart. This means in Monroe restaurants will be operating at 50 percent capacity, Livengood said.

The definition of bars and nightclubs under the order is any establishment that derives 50 percent or more of its gross from alcoholic beverage sales.

Key West’s government went further Tuesday afternoon, banning all on-site consumption at Southernmost city restaurants. Their kitchens can stay open, but only for take-out and delivery of food, city spokeswoman Alyson Crean said.

Carruthers said a lot of congressional legislation aimed at providing economic relief from the pandemic so far doesn’t address the expected damage hourly workers will suffer.

“A lot of us are pushing for federal relief,” she said.

Monroe is home to about 74,000 people, many of whom work in the tourism industry as servers, bartenders, hotel cleaning staff and in charter fishing.

On Tuesday, many people who pay the bills with their tips found themselves without a source of income.

Mark Rossi, who owns a complex of bars and eateries on Duval Street and is a former city commissioner, said he plans to pay his workers something during the shut-down.

“I’m going to obey by the rules the governor set forth and shut down for 30 days,” Rossi just said. “Keep my employees on salary if I can,and then get ready to reopen in 30 days. We’re planning to pay them their hourly wage for 25 hours a week. I think that’s more than fair.”

Rossi said, “These are my people.”

Eadie said the bar and nightclub closures for 30 days are because, typically, an epidemic is considered finished only after there are negative cases of a disease over two 14-day cycles.

Although the city of Key West closed three major public tourist hot spots — Higgs Beach, the Southernmost Point Buoy and the Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square — the county so far has no plans to close its public beaches.

“Being out in the sunshine, with space between people, is not necessarily a bad thing,” Carruthers said.

However, the county is operating under the state directive that people on the beach cannot congregate in groups of 10 or more people. County parks, county-owned public spaces and libraries will also remain open, but the less-than-10 people rule is in effect for them as well, Livengood said.

“The county is also looking into ways to increase financial and food-support systems for those who may fall into tough times during the virus’ closures with local nonprofits and Monroe County Social Services,” she said in a statement. “Social Services has ordered additional meals to support homebound services.”

Eadie said even if confirmed cases of COVID-19 emerge in the Keys, he expects, like in most parts of the world, most people infected will experience minor to even no symptoms. But these people can spread the virus to older people, and those with compromised immune systems, to which COVID-19 has proven deadly.

“It’s an opportunistic infection,” he said.

But he also urged people not to panic, and said Keys hospitals “seem to be ready if they need to be.”

“Outbreaks have happened before. They come and then they’re gone, which is what they do,” Eadie said.

He said testing is ramping up due to the greater ability to test people.

“It looks like finally everyone’s complained enough to the communications director that they decided to list the number of tests in each county,” Eadie said. “Any physician that utilizes a private lab now has all the supplies they need and can make all the tests they want. The capacity for testing has ramped up so you’re not just using the public health labs.”

Eadie said, “If you think you need to be tested, you need to self-isolate. Shortness of breath and a fever. You should be seeking medical care.”

Until Monday, the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County wasn’t sharing test breakdown information, citing patient privacy and a state directive.

That has changed.

“As of last night, the state Department of Health is now sharing the breakdown by county,” Livengood said on Tuesday morning. “If you look on our Facebook page, you can see everyone is like, ‘Can you break down the numbers by county,’ which we didn’t have the number before.”

About 25,000 people live in Key West, which on Monday shut down tourist attractions such as the Southernmost Point buoy, the Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square and Smathers Beach and postponed a number of large events, including the Conch Republic Independence Days Celebration, which was set for the week of April 17.

The city late Tuesday afternoon also announced it is no longer accepting passengers at the Key West Ferry Terminal. Crean said ferry service will continue for people leaving the island, but is closed to all arriving passengers.

Key West closes a beach and two major tourist attractions

The closures came in response to White House guidelines that people should avoid gathering in groups of 10 or more.

On Tuesday, the city closed its recreational centers, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Pool and the Police Athletic League gym due to the coronavirus.

City Commissioners canceled their special meeting set for 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 1300 White St., in light of the governor’s closure of bars and clubs and restrictions on restaurants, a spokeswoman said.

At this time, we feel this is the right thing to do, and are placing safety first.

Some bars on Tuesday — on the hard-drinking St. Patrick’s Day holiday — were closing voluntarily ahead of the meeting.

The famous Sloppy Joe’s bar on Duval Street announced on Facebook it was closing on Tuesday.

“At this time, we feel this is the right thing to do, and are placing safety first,” the bar’s management posted.

“As a leader in the community we are responding to the advice of the CDC and Monroe County by doing our part to help suppress the spread of the coronavirus,” they said.

The Village of Islamorada declared its own state of emergency Monday night to be in line with Monroe County and Key West.

Several big events scheduled to be held in the four-island municipality have been canceled, including Island Fest (March 27-28), Spring Fest and Egg Hunt (April 11) and the Bunko and Lunch (March 23). The ICE Bay Jam, scheduled for April 5, has been postponed, Mary Swaney, the village’s public information officer, said Monday.

The March 26 Village Council’s regularly scheduled meeting is still planned. However, the village is encouraging people who want to submit applications and payments to the village to use the CityView portal.