Coronavirus: Nine test negative in county, says DOH

Image
  • Nine test negative in county for coronavirus, says DOH.
    Nine test negative in county for coronavirus, says DOH.
Body

Nine people in Columbia County have tested negative for COVID-19, according to the Florida Department of Health, 

A story in yesterday’s edition of the Lake City Reporter said that at least 10 COVID-19 test results were pending for Columbia County. This was based on information released at a Lake City Council meeting and a subsequent interview, but the official who provided that information was misunderstanding the data, other government figures later said. 

Nine people were actually tested and none came back positive, DOH said.

Eight were negative and a ninth was listed as “No result” in state records. 

Thomas Moffses, director of the Florida Department of Health in Columbia County, said “No result” did not mean the same thing as pending, and likely indicated multiple samples were sent for the same person and the test was deemed unnecessary due to redundancy. 

“There’s no reason to burn another test when you’ve already got another negative,” Moffses said.