Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning that a presumptive positive case of the new coronavirus has been identified in Santa Rosa County.

The affected individual is "elderly with severe underlying conditions," according to the governor.

"He had been doing international travel," DeSantis said. "He's not in shape to fully answer all the questions, so there's an investigation ongoing, but that is a presumptive positive. It has not been confirmed by the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)."

DeSantis said the Florida Department of Health will be releasing more information on the case, but it is assumed the infection will be confirmed positive by the CDC.

Currently, there are three confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida, two of which involve Florida residents and one case which involves a non-Florida resident who is currently in the state. There are also five cases where Florida residents returning from abroad have been quarantined in other states.

The Florida Department of Health reported Thursday morning that there was one Florida resident presumed positive for COVID-19.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.

To minimize the spread of COVID -19, people are asked to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating and after blowing their nose, coughing or sneezing.

If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay home when sick.

In addition to the presumed positive case, there are eight COVID-19 cases involving Florida or Floridians

Discussing the public health risk of COVID-19 on Thursday, DeSantis said, "If you look at the data that’s coming out … people who are elderly and frail, people who have underlying medical conditions, that is overwhelmingly the group that is most susceptible to COVID-19."

He added, "The risk to Florida remains low, and I think the risk to the country as a whole remains low. I think people should just take proper precautions. If you're somebody who has a real serious condition already, you should view it differently than if you're 25 and don't have any problems."

The Florida Department of Health previously identified Florida’s first two COVID-19 cases as a Manatee County man in his 60s and a Hillsborough County woman in her 20s who traveled to Italy.

The Hillsborough County woman’s sister, a California resident who also traveled to Italy, is in isolation in the Tampa area.

DeSantis said his office was alerted Wednesday there was a Florida resident in Washington state who had tested positive for COVID-19. The administration later learned five Florida residents who had been traveling from China tested positive and were placed in a 14-day quarantine.

“They’re not going to be released from quarantine until they have tested negative, so we don’t anticipate that having any impact on the people actually living in Florida,” DeSantis said.

The governor said tens of thousands of testing kits are being sent to Florida. He also said officials were working with manufacturers to get medicals masks into the hands of health care workers.

The Department of Health reports there are currently 69 pending COVID-19 tests, 248 people currently under public health monitoring and 948 people who have been monitored to date.

Kevin Robinson can be reached at krobinson4@pnj.com or 850-435-8527.