Count 7 public officials among state’s virus cases
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s recent surge in COVID-19 cases hasn’t spared the Florida Legislature and others in government, as three lawmakers have confirmed positive tests, and two have been hospitalized.
The coronavirus also has infected two Florida sheriffs, the leader of the Florida Department of Corrections and one of his deputies, all of whom attended a recent conference with Gov. Ron
DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody. DeSantis and Moody both say they’ve tested negative.
Rep. Shevrin Jones, 36, was the first to receive a positive test in late June. He experienced extreme fatigue, body aches, chills and had fluid in his lungs and was admitted to the hospital twice before the coronavirus cleared his system.
“It was extremely scary,” said
Jones, D-West Park. “The problem was that I didn’t know what to expect.”
Yet Jones, who is competing in a crowded Democratic primary for a Broward Senate seat, is still taking precautions as he campaigns because doctors weren’t certain he couldn’t get the coronavirus again.
“That’s the million-dollar question on whether you can get it again,” Jones said. “No one can seem to answer that.”
Rep. Randy Fine, 43, was admitted to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Brevard County on Sunday after previously testing positive. In a video posted to Facebook on Tuesday he said he was feeling better but noted there was damage to his lungs and there could be long-term repercussions even if gets better.
“For folks who want to compare this to the flu, I don’t know a lot of people who get the flu and then have lung damage for months,” said Fine, R-Palm Bay.
A third lawmaker, Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, confirmed a positive test last month but has had mild symptoms.
The cases have come amid a surge throughout the state in July. On Wednesday, Florida added 5,409 cases and 225 deaths, pushing its total over 500,000 cases and up to 7,627 deaths. Deaths are a lagging indicator, meaning they show up later than when cases are reported, and some deaths are reported up to two weeks after they occur.
That’s led DeSantis to tout the “positive trends” in declining positivity rate – it dipped under 10 percent Sunday and Monday – and hospitalizations. He also addressed his own testing. As governor he’s traveled frequently since the onset of the pandemic and has been in the vicinity of people who have later tested positive.
He appeared with Fine at a Central Florida news conference on July 10, but Fine said he’s tested frequently and had a negative test after that event before later testing positive.
DeSantis also attended the Florida Sheriffs Association meeting in Bonita Springs on July 27 with 60 other people. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz, Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Mike Inch and DOC Deputy Secretary Ricky Nixon were in attendance and all have confirmed positive tests.
DeSantis said he’s tested negative since that event.
“The number of times I’ve been tested is pretty significant,” DeSantis told reporters on Monday. “I’ve had my temperature checked probably 100 times in the last few months.”
Moody was at the sheriff’s event, too, and spoke briefly with Chitwood but later tested negative, Moody spokeswoman Lauren Cassedy told The News Service of Florida. Cassedy added that Moody has been tested “multiple times” previously, including before attended events with President Donald Trump and has been negative each time.
A spokesman for Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, another member of the Florida Cabinet, said he has tested negative two separate times. A spokesman for Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the final Cabinet member, did not return emailed questions Tuesday about how often she’s been tested.
The Legislature isn’t required to return to the Capitol until after the election, in mid-November, for what’s called an organizational session. Substantive action isn’t usually taken during the session, and lawmakers are ceremonially sworn-in, but Democrats have been clamoring for a special session to address unemployment benefits, anticipated budget deficits and other pandemic response-related issues.
Just what precautions might be taken for the next session are unclear, but legislative leaders have stepped up cleaning of the Capitol and explored ways for lawmakers and the general public to be physically distant during the session.
Whenever lawmakers return, heated debates over the handling of the pandemic will follow, particularly on public schools, which DeSantis has pushed to open for in-person classes as an option for parents.
“Schools should not open,” said Jones, who praised education leaders in Broward and MiamiDade counties for opting to move forward with virtual learning only at least for the first part of the school year. “Our teachers are not disposable and our kids are not lab rats.”
DeSantis told CBS Miami reporter Jim DeFede on Monday that he wanted to work with school district leaders in the South Florida counties, but Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran has stood by his order to school districts to open for in-person classes.
“We understand their unique situations,” DeSantis said. “I would just make sure that as long as the goal is to give the parents the choice, and they’re going to work to get that done as soon as they can, you know, I don’t have any rigid timetable for because I understand their circumstances on the ground.”
But there is bipartisan agreement on one thing, at least between Fine and Jones, that the virus shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“Take this thing seriously, this is not a minor disease,” Fine said.