According to a report by Theo Karantsalis published in The Miami Herald, a Miami Spring Public Works employee has tested positive for the Coronavirus. As you might imagine, this was only a matter of time. According to the report, the employee is asymptomatic and is doing well.
Of course, this is not the first incidence of the Coronavirus in Miami Springs. Fair Havens leads the State of Florida with 44 fatalities from the disease after 134 Fair Havens residents contracted the virus.
As of this morning, our zip code, 33166 has 388 confirmed case of the Coronavirus. Miami Springs has 55% of the population within the zip code. We know 134 of those cases were from Fair Havens. If we take 55% of the total cases within the zip code, we can estimate Miami Springs has about 213 cases of the virus. Of course, that number could be slightly larger or smaller, but we feel confident that it’s somewhere close to that number. Of course, that would be the number of confirmed cases. Who knows how many more people have had the virus and didn’t know about it. Or worse yet, have the virus now and have no clue they may be spreading it around.
Again, this is why it’s important to wash your hands. Wear a mask. Practice social distancing. Just because businesses are opening up, does not mean we don’t have to be careful. And the number of cases in Florida and in the county are going up dramatically. Follow the guidelines and help stop the spread of this disease.
Click here to read the full story by Theo Karantsalis.
UPDATE 12:30pm:
The City of Miami Springs issued the following press release regarding the employee with COVID-19:
On Friday, June 12, a Miami Springs Public Works Department employee provided documentation to the Department indicating that the employee tested positive for COVID-19 despite having no symptoms of the virus.
In response, the City of Miami Springs immediately took the following measures:
- The City directed the employee to self-quarantine for two weeks and advised the employee that the employee would not be permitted to return until the employee tests negative for an active infection.
- On the same day that the City learned about the employee’s COVID-19 case, the City provided every Public Works employee and contractor not on leave (33 workers in total) with an on-site test for COVID-19 active infection. All 33 workers tested negative for the virus.
- The City hired a professional cleaning company to sanitize and disinfect the Public Works
buildings. The buildings were disinfected with an electrostatic sprayer before any Public Works employee returned to work.
Since March 2020, when the CDC announced the pandemic and established workplace safety guidelines, the City has provided employees in all departments with gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. Employees who feel ill or who display any symptoms of COVID-19 are directed not to come to work.
The safety of employees and residents continues to be the number one priority of the City of Miami Springs.
