Florida Begins Tracing Process Of People In Contact With Six Confirmed COVID-19 Cases At UT

Florida authorities have started tracing people who may have had contact with six University of Tampa students who tested positive for COVID-19 following the confirmation that five of the said students traveled with other students.

According to a post on the university’s official Facebook page on Sunday, the Florida Department of Health started working on identifying and notifying people who may have had contact with the students. Quarantine may be imposed on people who interacted with them, if necessary, the post said.

The five students who were infected with the novel coronavirus interacted with other UT students during spring break, amid increasing criticism of people still gathering in crowds for spring break excursions.

Four of the students were confirmed to have returned to the campus after the break. So far, none of the students from the spring break trip have been hospitalized. It is unclear how many people they interacted with during the COVID-19 strain’s incubation period.

In response to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the United States, Florida officials shut down some popular beaches where crowds have been photographed despite the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the Associated Press, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has since reminded that people who break social distancing rules are not superheroes and there is a chance they could infect others if they contract the highly-infectious virus.

The decision to close some of Florida’s beaches also came after rowdy college crowds appeared on TV amid increasing calls from the White House and local officials for people to stay at home to prevent further infections.

The school clarified that one of the students was not part of the spring breakers’ cluster. Instead, the student traveled internationally and tested positive of the novel virus upon returning to the country. The said student is also self-isolating but not at a hospital.

Meanwhile, an Orlando Police Department officer tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rol ó n confirmed.

The officer quickly self-isolated after he experienced flu-like symptoms earlier this month, NBC affiliate WESH reported. The officer has overcome coronavirus symptoms but he remains under a two-week quarantine to ensure that he has fully recovered.

Other Orlando Police Department personnel and staff who have had contact with the officer have since been placed under self-quarantine but so far, none of them displayed symptoms linked to the COVID-19 strain.

As of Monday morning, Florida recorded a total of 1,171 coronavirus cases and 14 deaths.