A Florida couple was jailed for allegedly breaching a mandatory quarantine order after they tested positive for the coronavirus, local officials said Thursday.
José Antonio Freire Interian, 24, and Yohana Anahi Gonzalez, 27, were arrested Wednesday night at their Key West apartment and taken to the Stock Island Detention Center, authorities said.
The Florida Department of Health in Monroe County issued an isolation order on July 21 to the couple, directing them to stay home for 14 days and to wear masks around each other, The Miami Herald reported.
But neighbors complained that the carefree couple had been breaking the rules.
Freire was seen walking his dog, making trips to the grocery store and washing his car, according to a police report. They had both been seen leaving and returning home without covering their faces.
The property manager at his apartment complex reported them to Key West police and released surveillance footage of the pair from a camera located in a common room, the Herald reported.
“An officer brought the video to the judge and the judge signed the order,” Key West city manager Greg Veliz told the newspaper.
The couple was charged with violating state law requiring isolation or quarantine in a public health emergency and violating emergency management.
Both are second-degree misdemeanors, punishable by up to 60 days in jail.
Freire and González were released from jail Thursday morning after paying $ 1,000 bail each.
During their time behind bars, the couple was kept isolated from other inmates in “negative pressure” rooms where air is not recirculated to other areas of the jail, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Adam said. Linhardt.
“The idea is to keep them separate from the general population,” said Linhardt. “We have had people in those rooms before we suspected they did. If they show symptoms, that’s where people are quarantined. “
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