Sarasota Memorial Hospital patient tests presumptively positive for COVID-19

Sarasota Memorial Hospital announced Thursday a 70-year-old man tested presumptively positive for COVID-19, the first case of the novel coronavirus disease at the facility.

In a release, the hospital said the man was admitted March 10 and placed in isolation. The hospital is awaiting verification of the positive test result from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but health officials are treating it as a confirmed case in the meantime.

In a separate release, the Florida Department of Health announced two positive COVID-19 test results for individuals in Sarasota County. One is a 70-year-old male Massachusetts resident. The other is a 50-year-old male New York resident. The origins of both cases are unknown, the release said. Neither release indicated if the Massachusetts man was the Sarasota Memorial Hospital patient.

The two cases announced Thursday are the first two officially linked to individuals in Sarasota County, according to the Florida Department of Health. Although another COVID-19 patient was treated in February and March at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, that individual was a Manatee County resident.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital said it is working with the Florida Department of Health to respond to the diagnosis of the patient there. State health officials are investigating the source of the man’s infection and working to identify others who may have been exposed to the virus. The hospital and state are also working to isolate and monitor those who may have been exposed, including healthcare providers and individuals close to the patient.

After the case at Doctors Hospital became public earlier this month, SMH President and CEO David Verinder said health officials were working to educate the public and improve their capacity to test for and treat the disease. In the Thursday release, Verinder expressed confidence the hospital was ready to take on challenges associated with coronavirus.

“Our team has been preparing for this eventuality for more than a month, and we have trained teams equipped with the resources needed to help keep our community safe,” Verinder said in the release. “As more people are diagnosed in our nation, it is important to remember that we are talking about more than numbers. These are people we care for, and care about, and we all need to do our part to protect those most vulnerable in our community.”

Information about where the New York resident is being treated was not immediately available.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital is holding a news conference Friday to provide more information about the case being treated there.

The hospital advised any members of the public to call the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121 if they believe they may have symptoms of the disease. The Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County announced today it has set up a local coronavirus call center, as well. If individuals are in need of urgent care, the hospital recommended calling their doctor or the SMH coronavirus information center at 941-262-4000 before arriving at the facility so staff can take precautionary measures to limit exposure.

More information about COVID-19, including Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s response to the disease in the community, is available on the SMH website.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.