Miami mayor tests positive for coronavirus after meeting with Brazilian president

UPDATED, March 13, 1:20 p.m.: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an event in Miami with a Brazilian government official who later tested positive for the virus.

President Trump also met with the Brazilian group, at Mar-a-Lago, during their visit to South Florida.

Suarez, who is a real estate attorney with Greenspoon Marder, told The Miami Herald on Friday that he tested positive for coronavirus. He has self-isolated since learning that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s aide had tested positive for COVID-19. According to initial reports from Brazilian media, Bolsonaro had also tested positive, but Bolsonaro said on Friday that he tested negative.

“It is confirmed that I have the coronavirus,” Suarez said in an interview with the Miami Herald. “I did test positive for it.”

Fabio Wajngarten, a press secretary to Bolsonaro, had tested positive on Thursday. After learning that, Suarez went to his Coconut Grove home where he is planning to stay isolated for two weeks, according to the Herald.

In addition to Trump, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Sen. Rick Scott also met with the Brazilian officials during their visit.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez confirmed he tested negative for COVID-19. Gimenez said he plans to self-isolate for up to 14 days.

In the United States, several state and local governments have banned large gatherings, causing organizers to cancel events to limit the spread of the disease, while further deepening the pandemic’s negative economic impact. The governors of Washington, Oregon and California have banned gatherings of 250 or more people, and the governor of Ohio forbade gatherings larger than 100 people.

Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami have been under a state of emergency since Thursday after the county confirmed its first case of coronavirus. [Miami Herald] — Keith Larsen