Janelle Irwin Taylor
A resident at ONE St. Petersburg, the newly finished luxury condo tower in downtown St. Pete, has reportedly texted positive for the coronavirus.
The condo association sent a notice out to residents Wednesday that a resident self-reported his or her diagnosis to the condo board of directors and management “so that all residents of the condominium could be informed,” according to the notice obtained by Florida Politics.
“As many of you are aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is serious and can affect individuals of all ages, regardless of whether or not a person shows any symptoms,” the notice warned.
The resident said they returned from a domestic trip on Sunday, March 8 and was later tested.
The person is being treated in an unnamed hospital and their spouse is under quarantine at the condo.
While the email did not indicate which hospital the residents was being teated, Bayfront Hospital on Thursday said it had its first coronavirus patient, according to Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long who mentioned it during an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon.
ONE St. Petersburg is the tallest building in St. Pete’s downtown skyline and includes more than 250 condos. The building is also well-equipped with shared amenities where residents could have come into contact with other residents, though the notice is short on details.
Those amenities include a fitness center, pool, yoga room and conference center.
The building also includes street level retail where nonresidents also gather.
As of Thursday morning, 12 cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Pinellas County. Of those, one person was admitted to the hospital while two visited the emergency room. Six of the cases were related to travel, nine unrelated to travel and three cases are still being investigated.
Statewide, 328 cases have been reported and eight people have died from the disease, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The virus has led to widespread closures and efforts to minimize public contact to the extent possible. Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all bars and nightclubs, of which there are plenty in downtown St. Pete, closed until Mar. 30. Locally, St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman ordered all restaurants to operate at half capacity, a mandate DeSantis later implemented statewide, and moved the city’s last call for alcohol up from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Kriseman also banned any public or private gatherings of more than 50 people, per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The efforts are all meant to slow the spread of the virus and “flatten the curve” as health officials have recommended.
The notice to ONE residents came the same day the University of South Florida in Tampa notified students and faculty that an employee had tested positive for the virus after having contact with 13 students and “several” faculty members.
7 comments
John Doe
March 19, 2020 at 1:55 pm
Why is USFSP still open to the employees!!
J
March 19, 2020 at 5:20 pm
The should Disclose this person so people know if they have come in contact!
Lili
March 20, 2020 at 9:48 am
It seems to me that Krisman and De Santis do not care about the welfare of the residents inside of our community. They are both behind in the times,in the defense of our residents. Why are the beaches still open?
Phebie White
March 20, 2020 at 11:13 am
Please help me with this question I went into several pizza restaurant and Chinese restaurants and food is being prepared without gloves I called the Hillsborough county health department they transferred the call that particular person could not answer my question so she transferred me to Florida health department I asked young lady that question and she said that it was up to the restaurant owners if the people should wear gloves 🤔 so only the people that are coming in to pick up their food should wear gloves please help me with this question I need an answer it makes me sick when I see them preparing food with their bare hands I have never seen anyone in Subway without gloves on way to go Subway
Jerry
March 20, 2020 at 4:38 pm
This is a lie. Blame a Journalist who wants to be recognized. This is clearly what i call a drive by media.
Cynthia Sweeney
March 20, 2020 at 10:26 pm
Residents were warned. How about all the other workers going in and out? This is a Kriseman issue. Haven’t heard much from him. Where did these people go? Who came in contact with them?
Pamela
March 21, 2020 at 3:09 pm
It seems people would quit traveling anywhere til this virus is irradiated.Cruise ships are floating biohazards of disease.We need close all travel ports and airlines for a month or so.But that won’t happen because of corporate greed.Look what happened to New York doing non shut down of people staying home because New Yorkers couldn’t deal with being on quarantine.now they are crying for help because the virus exploded into the population.The guy who flew to palm beach from New York corona positive ,now Florida south east coast are seeing a rise in cases caused by travel and disregard of self quarantine. New York is are Italy Now,because of the self centered stupidity.
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