A Florida man who tested positive for COVID-19 and was arrested along with his wife in Key West for allegedly violating a quarantine order insisted Friday that he was only walking his dog and was not trying to endanger anyone.
“I did nothing,” Freire Interian, 24, told The Associated Press. “I was just walking my dog. It’s not like I’m leaving the house to go shopping. “
Interian spoke as the coronavirus continued to cut a deadly swath across Florida with the state breaking its daily record for deaths for the fourth day on a low with 257 new deaths, according to the latest NBC News count.
The numbing new figure was reported on Florida heels that recorded 253 deaths on Thursday, 216 on Wednesday and 186 more on Tuesday, all of which were new daily highs in a pandemic that have made the state a COVID-19 hot spot. .
Meanwhile, Hurricane Isaias threatened Florida, and Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency from Miami-Dade County to the state’s Atlantic coast, a stretch that includes counties with the highest number of COVID cases and deaths- 19.
As of Friday, Florida has reported 470,386 cases and 6,843 deaths.
Nationwide, more than 4.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported along with 153,480 deaths, according to NBC News figures.
Interian was arrested along with his 27-year-old wife, Yohana Anahi González, on Wednesday after neighbors videotaped them for allegedly ignoring the quarantine requirement, local officials said.
Each was charged with misdemeanor crimes for violating state law requiring isolation or quarantine in a public health emergency and for violating emergency management, a conviction for which he could send them both back to jail for up to 60 days.
Calling his arrest “unfair”, Interian said he was stunned when Key West police arrived at the house he shares with others.
“There was a loud knock on the door,” he said. “I opened the door. They said, ‘Come on,’ and I asked them, ‘Why?’ I was in shock. “
Florida health officials, however, say Interian and González learned they were infected on July 15 and were supposed to isolate themselves for 14 days. But on July 20 they ventured into a store and were caught doing it on video.
Interian and González appear to be among the first people arrested in Florida for breaking the quarantine. But they are not the first to conflict with local quarantine regulations.
In Hawaii last month, 21 travelers were arrested for breaking the state’s 14-day mandatory quarantine, none of which ended up testing positive. And in May, a 37-year-old Kentucky woman infected with COVID-19 was charged with “senseless danger” and “criminal mischief” after she was discovered buying food while she should have been isolated. It was the third time she had defied a quarantine order.
In other developments related to the coronavirus:
- Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a Congressional committee that he was “cautiously optimistic.” The researchers will have developed a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this year. He also clashed with advocates of President Donald Trump, such as Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who tried to get Fauci to link the explosive number of new coronavirus cases to the ongoing protests against police brutality that erupted after George Floyd died while in the Minneapolis police. custody. So far there appears to be no evidence that the protests are behind the virus spikes. Most medical experts say states like Florida, Texas and Arizona reopened before the coronavirus could be contained and are now paying the price. Trump, who has been criticized for minimizing the danger of the pandemic, tweeted his approval of Fauci’s hopeful news and Jordan’s questions about the doctor.
- The dangers to people talking about wearing masks were caught on Wednesday in a surveillance video at a Staples store in Hackensack, New Jersey. A 54-year-old woman named Margot Kagan, who is still recovering from a liver transplant, suffered a broken leg after she was thrown to the ground by another woman and opposed being called for not properly wearing her mask over his nose. Kagan said she was standing next to a photocopier and threw her away after she raised her cane in an attempt to put some distance between herself and the woman. Police are investigating the situation.
