Florida coronavirus update for Wednesday, March 4: Expert answers your questions

Here’s the latest information on coronavirus in Florida and its impact for Wednesday, March 4. This story will be continually updated with more information throughout the day as we confirm it.

Today, health reporter Naseem Miller interviewed Candice W. Jones, MD, a board certified pediatrician, in a video on our Facebook page. You can watch the video below:

Cases update:

Number of confirmed cases in Florida: 2

Number of Florida cases repatriated and isolated out of state until healthy: 5

Number of cases from other states diagnosed in Florida: 1

Number of pending test results: 16

Number of negative test results: 24

Number of deaths in Florida: 0

Number of people being monitored: 247

What’s happening today

A Floridian in Washington state has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, said Gov. Ron DeSantis during a visit to the Department of Health in Orange County.

Aside from the latest case in Washington -- a 64-year-old man -- four other Floridians are in isolation out of state until they’re healthy, according to the Florida Department of Health.

So far two Floridians have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the state and one person from California was diagnosed with the illness in Hillsborough County.

DeSantis said the risk in Florida -- and the United States -- remains low. “We are not advocating any disruption to daily life,” he said while at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “And obviously, we’re working with the CDC, if that guidance were to change." He added that the elderly or people with underlying conditions are most at risk. “And so we have been working closely with our nursing homes, assisted living facilities, providing them with kind of guidance to limit access if somebody is showing symptoms to those.”

Nationally, Capitol Hill negotiators have reached agreement on an $8.3 billion measure to battle the coronavirus outbreak that’s spreading and threatening a major shock to the economy and disruptions to everyday life in the U.S. The House will vote on the deal later Wednesday and Senate leaders are pressing for a vote in that chamber by the end of the week.

Also, Gay and Phil Courter, the Crystal River couple who had been under quarantine since Feb. 4 -- first on Diamond Princess cruise ship, then at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio -- are home. They’re both healthy and haven’t tested positive for the virus. The couple had been under quarantine for 28 days.

Orlando theme parks and tourism

Cruise lines are stepping up their restrictions on who can travel on a ship as the threat of coronavirus spreads throughout the travel industry.

Also, the first conference scheduled for the Orange County Convention Center has been canceled because of fears related to the coronavirus. Ellucian Live, a higher education technology conference, announced the cancellation on its website Tuesday. Last year, 8,000 people from 1,300 higher education institutions attended the event.

On Tuesday, Disney World said it was adding more hand sanitizers at its theme parks and resorts while also reminding employees -- who make up Central Florida’s largest workforce -- to take preventative steps, such as washing their hands and keep their work areas sanitized.

Orlando International Airport

The airport said it is taking additional measures “to maintain a safe and resilient operation," including:

u00ba Installation of hand sanitizer stations throughout the airport.

u00ba Increased cleaning at “high touch point areas,” including escalator handrails, elevators, seating areas, restrooms and food court areas.

u00ba Using specialized equipment to deep clean certain areas, including restrooms, federal inspection stations and U.S.

u00ba More frequent cleaning of airport shuttle buses.

The airport also said that some airlines have revised policies on changing and canceling flights; travelers should check with the airlines.

Schools/education

Florida’s 65th annual state science and engineering fair -- scheduled for March 24 to 26 in Lakeland -- has been suspended because of fears of coronavirus.

The State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida was expected to draw more than 1,700 people.

The risks “are far too great to justify” this year’s fair, wrote Bill Herschleb, chair of the Florida Foundation for Future Scientists, on the fair’s website.

“This event brings together representatives of every age and every region of the state, and the close person-to-person contact during the 3-day event provides for unimpeded viral transmission,” his statement said.

The fair was to be attended by about 950 students in grades 6 to 12 who had done well in regional events as well as hundreds of teachers, parents and others.

Sports and events

Florida high school wrestling coaches are used to making good hygiene a top priority while supervising the high school sport that arguably features the most physical contact between opposing athletes. The coaches, along with Florida High School Athletic Association officials, are confident they can hold the state wrestling championships this week at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee without risking the spread of coronavirus.

Internationally, despite worldwide concern of how the coronavirus outbreak will affect the Tokyo Olympics from July 24-Aug. 9, the IOC’s leadership is not joining in the debate.

UCF

Check out this UCF page for coronavirus updates.

What else we know

Worldwide, Saudi Arabia banned citizens from performing the Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca while Italy weighed closing schools nationwide and Iran canceled Friday prayers for a second week as nations scrambled Wednesday to control the coronavirus outbreak.

In entertainment news, the James Bond film “No Time to Die” will be postponed until November 12, 2020. Originally supposed to be released internationally on April 2 and in the U.S. on April 10, film backers were concerned because of the closures of theaters in major markets such as Italy, South Korea, China, and Japan.

Sick time dilemma | Editorial

An important bit of health advice is to stay home from work if you’re experiencing symptoms such as shortness of breath and fever. For many service-sector workers who don’t have paid sick time, staying home means not getting paid. Read our editorial about that problem.

Something to think about

Want to know where every confirmed case is in the U.S. Check out this map of updated cases.

Coronavirus tip for the day

Dan Sweeney, our colleague at the South Florida Sun Sentinel, has some good suggestions for things you might want to avoid touching -- or at least wash your hands afterward: Remote controls, dish sponges, money, touch screens, shopping carts, high-fives and handshakes, gas pump handles.

Symptoms? Do this

Call your health-care provider if you have cough, fever and shortness of breath -- and you’ve been in close contact with someone how has COVID-19 or has recently traveled to one of the following countries, where the virus transmission is widespread: China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea.

How to protect yourself

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Stay home when you are sick and avoid contact with persons in poor health.

Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

Clean and disinfect touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Follow these recommendations for using a face mask: CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a face mask. The masks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of masks are also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings.

Questions? Here are numbers to call

The Florida Department of Health has set up a call center to answer questions about the coronavirus. There’s a number for Orange County, too.

The Florida Department of Health’s number is 1-866-779-6121 and is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents can also send questions via email at [email protected].

In Orange County, the number to call is 407-723-5004; it’s available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For accurate, up-to-date information, visit

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov

The Florida Department of Health: floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19. For questions, call the COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121 or email [email protected].

A live map of COVID-19 cases around the globe: gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

You want to be extra-prepared? Here’s how to stock up before a pandemic: ready.gov/pandemic

For the latest coronavirus updates, visit OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus and follow @orlandosentinel on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com.

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