Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh tests positive for COVID-19

Rick Singh's legal troubles lighten up a bit.

Orange County Property Appraiser Rick Singh has tested positive for COVID-19.

Singh began to feel ill Monday, was tested Tuesday, and received a positive result on Thursday, according to his spokesperson Beth Watson.

“He is feeling better,” Watson said of Singh’s most recent status.

Singh, who is normally quite active in the community and is running for a third term in office this year, made a brief appearance at an event late last week, causing others to self-quarantine upon the news of his infection.

They included Sen. Linda Stewart, an Orlando Democrat.

Stewart said Friday that she has no symptoms and has been taking her temperature regularly. She does not think she had much exposure to Singh at a Farm Share food distribution event she was hosting on May 28. Singh stopped by to see how things were going. Stewart said they bumped elbows but otherwise kept their distance.

“I’m doing fine. I think I’m OK,” Stewart said. “We’ve been being so careful at the office and everywhere.”

Also at that event was Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor Daisy Morales, who is running for the Florida House of Representatives in House District 48, in southeastern Orange County, this year. Morales said she was “very isolated” from Singh at the event, does not think she was exposed, feels fine, and is not self-quarantining.

Ironically, Morales is running for that seat because its incumbent, Rep. Amy Mercado, filed a primary challenge against Singh for the Orange County Property Appraiser’s office.

Both the Orange County Property Appraiser’s contest and the HD 48 elections are hotly-contested for the August 28 Democratic primaries.

Singh and Mercado also face businessman Khalid Muneer in the primary for the Orange County Property Appraiser’s Office. The campaign is expected to be intense. No Republicans or independents have filed to run for the office.

The HD 48 race is particularly crowded, with all the candidates but one entering in the past four weeks since Mercado announced her intention to switch races in early May. The August 28 Democratic primary field currently has Morales, Anthony Tsonis, Nelson Pena, Julio Rocha, Alex Taylor, and Samuel Vilchez Santiago, all of Orlando. One Republican has filed, Jesus Martinez of Orlando.

Stewart, of Orlando, does not have a primary opponent in Senate District 13, covering much of central and eastern Orange County. In the November election, she’s facing Republican Joshua Anderson, of Orlando.