Several coronavirus cases in Brevard County indicate community spread, officials say

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Brevard County officials say they have seen several COVID-19 cases that indicate community spread.

Maria Stahl, the administrator for the Florida Department of Health in Brevard County, told commissioners Tuesday that Brevard County has seen cases that weren’t related to either travel or another known cases.

“We truly do have community spread with our cases,” Stahl said.

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The updates were given during the first of two special meetings scheduled this week and held by Brevard County commissioners to address the response to COVID-19.

The first COVID-19 case was identified on March 17, and the second case was on March 22. Health officials said they’re seeing a doubling of cases every two to three days since then.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Brevard County as of Tuesday stands at 34 with six hospitalizations. So far, the county has kept up with testing for its highest-priority groups: Hospital patients and workers with symptoms, patients in long-term care with symptoms, those with underlying health conditions or 65 and older with symptoms.

And, area hospitals are not reporting shortages of personal protective equipment.

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Two of the three residents who showed up to Tuesday’s meeting to address commissions said they don’t think the county is going far enough to prevent new cases, and one asked for a shelter in place order.

“I’d rather have my family safe than to be in public with people at the parks at the community swimming pools like nothing is going (on in) the world, that it’s not going to affect us,” said Eva Roverelli of Melbourne.

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In response to a shelter in place order, Commissioner Bryan Lober said, “If we take measure that we can take that are less authoritarian, that are less restrictive and they don’t work, or we see things continue to worsen at a rate that we’re not comfortable with, I would look at it. I just don’t know that we have to get to that at this point in time."

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