Florida confirms third case of coronavirus.

The Florida Department of Health has confirmed a third patient in the state with a presumptive case of the new coronavirus.

The 22-year-old woman is the sister of a previously confirmed patient who had traveled with her to Italy. Both of the infected people are showing symptoms of COVID-19 and are self-isolated in Hillsborough County.

On Monday, the state of Florida announced it had two confirmed cases of COVID-19; the other is a man in his 60s from Manatee County. The case announced on Tuesday is “presumptive,” which means it tested positive at one of the state’s three labs but needs final confirmation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Our team is working to trace the contacts and exposure for all of these cases,” Florida Department of Health spokesman Alberto Moscoso said Tuesday.

Another 16 suspected cases in the state are pending test results.

The Florida Department of Health tests people who show symptoms of the new coronavirus and have traveled to an infected area or come in close contact with someone who is infected.

Florida also is monitoring 247 people who have traveled to infected areas including China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea, but have not shown symptoms for the new coronavirus. Anyone who has symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath and has traveled to an infected area or come into contact with someone who has a confirmed case should contact their local health department before visiting a health care provider.

The CDC says it will now update the national count each day at noon and advises checking state Department of Health websites for the most up-to-date case counts. On Tuesday, the CDC said 60 people in the United States are confirmed with the new coronavirus, now labeled COVID-19. The national case count does not include people on the Princess Diamond cruise ship or Americans who were repatriated from China.

The CDC says case numbers are rising not just because the virus is spreading, but because federal officials have taken steps toward expanded testing.

“We expect to continue to find more cases,” Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a media briefing Tuesday. “We want anyone with suspected exposure to reach out, but do that by phone. We are still trying to understand how the virus behaves and prevent spread.”

Messonnier said the country is beginning to see communities taking actions to blunt the effect of the virus and asked the public to cooperate. “If a healthcare provider or public health worker tells you to stay home for 14 days, please do that. Individual actions can have an important impact on how this situation plays out.”

Florida can now get results for COVID-tests wtihin 24 hours at its three Department of Health labs in Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa. The Food and Drug Administration may have test kits available for hospitals and health care providers to use onsite. Dr.

Stephen Hahn, the FDA’s commissioner, told news media his agency will have commercial test kits to send out throughout the month, allowing states to test up to 1,000 people a day.

While the availability will allow for widespread testing, “those kits will not have public health confirmation,” Messonnier said.

Meanwhile, Florida health officials expressed frustration that New York officials did not inform them of the infection of a New York patient who had traveled to Miami. Florida learned about the case through the news media

The absence of a clear protocol for sharing information between states seemed to become more apparent as Florida expressed irritation that New York health officials did not reach out to alert them about an infected 50-year-old lawyer from New Rochelle.

The man had no known travel history to countries with significant outbreaks of the new coronavirus but had recently traveled to Miami.

Officials said the man was diagnosed Monday at a city hospital after initially seeking treatment at a hospital in suburban Bronxville. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city's health lab performed the positive test on its first day of testing for the virus.

Florida officials said they learned about the case through the news media.

“Although NY officials did not alert FL Dept. of Health, @HealthyFla immediately reached out to NY officials for information regarding this case,” Ferre tweeted Tuesday morning.