Taylor has 12 test negative

Posted on March 25, 2020

While the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to increase across Florida and the U.S., there are still no confirmed cases in Taylor County.

As of presstime Tuesday, 12 people in Taylor County had been tested for the disease, and all 12 tests have come back negative. There were no outstanding tests at the time.

Locally, schools remain closed through at least April 15 due to the outbreak, and government offices are closed to the public (see related stories).

Additionally, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all restaurants in the state to halt on-site dining and convert to take-out and delivery only.

Bars, night clubs, gyms and fitness studios have also been ordered to close. Several local restaurants and other businesses have closed temporarily since the order.

The Taylor County Commission is expected to hold an emergency meeting as early as today (Wednesday) via conference call to discuss county operations during the continuing crisis and the possible closure of county facilities.

Several Taylor County coastal residents expressed concerns online over the weekend about people traveling from outside the county to utilize Taylor’s public boat ramps and beaches and possibly transmitting the coronavirus to local residents or depleting local supplies.

County Administrator LaWanda Pemberton said Tuesday that county staff is working through the logistics of holding the emergency county meeting using a conference call in order to allow anyone from the public to call in to listen and participate.

Once the time and date are finalized, the county will send the information out to everyone on their email list, and Perry Newspapers will post it online on its website and Facebook page.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there had been 1,412 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Florida, including 1,330 Florida residents and 82 non-residents. Additionally, 18 people have died from the disease in the state.

In addition to there being no cases in Taylor County, there has not yet been any confirmed cases in any of Taylor County’s direct neighboring counties.

In Dixie County, eight people had been tested, and all eight tests came back negative. In Lafayette County, five people had been tested, and all were negative. Six people each had also been tested in Madison and Jefferson counties, and again, all were negative.

The closest county with positive cases is Leon County, which had eight confirmed cases as of Tuesday afternoon. Of those, the ages ranged from 31 to 59 and included three men and five women. All eight were considered travel-related.

Nationwide, there have been more than 44,000 cases and 540 deaths. Cases have been reported in all 50 states.

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