DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott have self-quarantined after coming in contact with a Brazilian official who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Suarez made the announcement on webcam, away from a press conference Thursday, that he was advised to isolate himself after coming into contact with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Fabio Wajngarten, his communications director, during his visit to Miami on Monday and Tuesday. That staffer has since tested positive for the virus.
“During the president’s visit to Miami on Monday and Tuesday, I was in the same room as the president and the infected staff member,” Suarez said. “Although I believe I did not have personal contact with the infected person and I’m not displaying any symptoms, after speaking with healthcare professionals, I have decided to follow Department of Health protocol and self-quarantine out of an abundance of caution. I feel healthy, strong and more than capable of doing my job as mayor. As such, I will continue to lead our government remotely to ensure operations run smoothly and efficiently.”
Sen. Scott, R-Fla., also announced that he will self-quarantine out of an abundance of caution because he met with Wajngarten, although his risk for contracting the virus being low.
Suarez, meanwhile, is home and waiting to find out if he will need to be tested.
Doral councilwoman Claudia Mariaca has also self-quarantined out of an abundance of caution after briefly coming into contact with Bolsonaro for a photo. The councilwoman did not come into contact with Wajngarten.
City of Miami Police has confirmed that all 21 officers on the motorcycle squad that escorted the delegation will stay on home quarantine for the next two weeks.
President Donald Trump downplayed concerns over the coronavirus while speaking from the White House on Thursday, days after meeting Bolonaro and his communications director.
“Let’s put it this way: I’m not concerned,” Trump said. “They had dinner together in Florida at Mar-a-Lago with the entire delegation, and I don’t know if the press aid was there. If was there, he was there. We did nothing very unusual. We sat next to each other for a period of time.”
Wajngarten posted a photo on social media with him standing alongside Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the resort over the weekend.
Several members of the president’s family were also present during the dinner between the two world leaders.
Bolsonaro and his entourage also visited the U.S. Southern Command in Doral on Sunday, where the met with other defense leaders.
In a statement, a spokesperson for U.S. Southern Command said, “In light of reports that a Brazilian delegate tested positive for COVID-19, we have taken immediate actions to account for all personnel who supported the Brazilian president’s visit to U.S. Southern Command. Our medical professionals are working with the U.S. Embassy in Brazil, the Florida Department of Health and other health officials to individually contact each person who was present.”
7News Political Expert Brian Fonseca said the visit made sense, and officials made progress on looking for ways to collaborate to protect U.S. interests in Latin America.
“It was part of a normal key leader engagement, as we might call it,” Fonseca said. “A normal part of just cultivating and building relations between two countries.”
Despite concerns over the virus and the Brazilian delegation’s interaction with top military leaders, U.S. security depends on southern command.
“The mission has to go on,” Fonseca said. “[The Department of Defense] has to remain fully operational, but we’re also in an environment where teleworking, leveraging technology to communicate can still help.”
Possibly related to the matter, Miami-Dade College announced they will be closing its Medical Campus immediately after a visitor who attended a recent, non-campus event tested positive for the coronavirus. Classes at other campuses will continue as normal.
“This is really unprecedented,” MDC spokesperson Juan Mendieta said. “Well, the whole situation is, after all. We’re going to be in contact soon with a biohazard company to step in and clean thoroughly this facility in an abundance of caution to make sure that it’s abundantly safe.”
A representative for Gimenez said the mayor will stay home until the Florida Department of Health determines if he needs to get tested.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., did not come in contact with the infected communications director.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro is still waiting for his coronavirus test results.
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