The spread of the novel coronavirus in Florida likely began in January, or maybe even earlier, several weeks before the first case was confirmed in the state at the start of March. The Miami Herald reported new data from Florida’s health department that could change the understanding of how the disease spread through the nation. Health officials reportedly documented at least 170 COVID-19 patients with symptoms between Dec. 31 and Feb. 29. Forty percent of those patients had no known contact with someone else with the virus and the majority hadn’t traveled. At least 26 people who contracted COVID-19 reportedly started showing symptoms in late December or January. Eric Toner of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security explained to the newspaper: “That’s community spread... It’s invisible, it’s invisible, it’s invisible, until it’s suddenly obvious.” The expert added that the new data “helps to explain what appeared to be a sort of explosive outbreak out of nowhere.”
