Five people who attended the same meeting last week as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have tested positive for COVID-19.
The News Service of Florida, in a story posted by the Tampa Bay Times, said the officials all attended a July 27 Florida Sheriffs Association meeting in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Face masks were required at the meeting and attendees adhered to social distancing guidelines, said Nanette Schimpf, spokeswoman for the association. She said two days after the event, an unidentified attendee notified the association of a positive coronavirus test.
By Friday, Florida Corrections Secretary Mark Inch, Department of Corrections Deputy Secretary Ricky Dixon and Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood revealed that they had also tested positive, according to the news service.
And on Monday, Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz had tested positive, the news service said.
While all five attended the meeting, it is still unclear whether it was the source of the infection.
DeSantis was among the people who were notified about their potential exposure to the virus, Schimpf said. It is unclear whether he was in close contact with any of the infected individuals while at the meeting, the news service reported.
His office did not respond to requests for comments.
However, he had said on Monday: “I’m tested regularly, and I don’t have or have not had any symptoms.”
The Hill noted that Florida's seven-day average in newly identified coronavirus cases has fallen to 8,448 cases per day. The state has been an epicenter for the outbreak in the U.S. during July.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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