DOH Update: COVID -19

The Florida Department of Health (Department) is prioritizing testing of symptomatic individuals who had close contact with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case, are part of an outbreak, or have unexplained respiratory illness. Please see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Alert Network 429 https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00429.asp for additional guidance on prioritization of testing. The Department recommends other individuals be tested at a commercial laboratory (e.g., LabCorp and Quest). For all persons under investigation for COVID-19, take the following precautions.

Ask the patient to wear a surgical mask.
• Evaluate the patient in a private room with the door closed, ideally an airborne isolation room, if available.
• Initiate contact and airborne precautions, including use of eye protection (e.g., goggles or a face shield) for all health care professionals and other staff entering the room.
• Visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control.html for additional recommendations on infection control recommendations for patients under investigation for COVID-19 in health care settings

Affected areas are defined as geographic regions where sustained community transmission has been identified. For a list of relevant affected areas, see Coronavirus Disease 2019 Information for Travel (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html)