Former Orange County commissioner thought he had allergies. It turned out to be COVID-19. Why he’s sharing his story.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Scott Boyd’s symptoms were so mild that he thought he was suffering from seasonal allergies.

But over the weekend, the former Orange County commissioner tested positive for COVID-19.

He lives in a neighborhood with a lot of trees, like this, so it wasn’t unreasonable to think his symptoms were sparked by allergies.

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But what he said is scary is that he was walking around, potentially spreading the virus without knowing.

“I started having some congestion, slight cough, you know,” Boyd said. “I was kind of chalking it off to allergies.”

A family member encouraged the newlywed to get tested for COVID-19, and it was positive.

“We were doing everything we thought we were supposed to be doing. We'd go to the store, wipe your hands down,” he said. “That's kind of the scary thing is I thought I was being careful with it.”

His results were processed at a Winter Garden lab, where they said they've run about 2,500 tests in the last two weeks.

Boyd said he can’t pin down where he may have picked up the virus. But he lives in the 34787 ZIP code, which as of Monday had more than 40 positive cases, one of the highest in Orange County.

Like so many of others, he said he's only left home for essential things, mostly groceries.

“Doing the essential things that other people have been doing and not knowing that I was actually carrying this,” he said.

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Boyd said he wants you to know there are mild cases of this virus, and that if passed on could cause serious problems for someone else.

That’s why he said he’s urging others to get tested and be careful in public.

“Someone else out there may pick it up from someone who feels like I do, who doesn't know they have it, and give it to one of their family members who has a really horrible reaction to it,” Boyd said.

He said his other family members who have been tested for the virus came back negative.

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