Pensacola-area health officials held a press conference Thursday about a presumed positive case of the new coronavirus in Santa Rosa County, but they provided very little new information about the impacted individual and who he may have been in contact with.

On Thursday morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that an elderly man with a history of international travel and pre-existing health conditions was being tested for COVID-19.

DeSantis said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were verifying local test results, but there was a high degree of confidence the CDC's test results would come back positive.

"He had been doing international travel," DeSantis said at the press conference at the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office. "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 CDC."

During a press conference Thursday afternoon in Pensacola, Scott Raynes, executive vice president of Baptist Health Care, confirmed that Baptist Hospital in Pensacola was treating the patient identified by the governor.

Flanked by leadership from the Florida Departments of Health in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, Raynes said the hospital was working closely with state and federal partners to safeguard patients, visitors, hospital personnel and the wider community. He also noted the hospital anticipated they would eventually receive patients with COVID-19.

“We're ready for this,” Raynes said. “Taking care of people is precisely what we do.”

The assembled officials discussed general best practices for curbing the spread of respiratory disease — namely washing your hands regularly, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding people who were sick, staying home when sick and avoiding close contact with people who had recently visited known COVID-19 hot spots.

Citing a limited time schedule, the officials spoke for a total of about 10 minutes and left without answering any questions.

Initially, Baptist personnel said they could not confirm whether the individual they were treating was the same patient discussed by the governor. They confirmed that detail in a later news release.

However, health personnel still have not disclosed if the presumed positive patient had been close contact with family members, friends or the wider community; if any other individuals were being monitored or tested because of close contact with the known patient; or when they would be available to provide additional information.

"We understand the community’s interest and concerns related to COVID-19 and will continue to provide updates as soon as they are available," Baptist said in a statement.

During the press conference, Dr. Paul Glisson, medical director of Baptist Hospital, did provide some insight into the care of individuals affected by COVID-19.

"Known and suspected patients are placed in one of our specially equipped 'negative pressure rooms,' " Glisson said. “These are designed to isolate the infectious risk from those patients who are treated at our hospital. Those entering this room are using standard protection including rigorous hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, which includes gowns, gloves, respiratory protection and eye protection, and we're also limiting access to these to these areas to essential personnel.”

As of Thursday, the Florida Department of Health reported eight other COVID-19 cases involving Florida or Floridians.

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.

The governor said his office has been alerted of 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 Thursday.

Health officials have stressed that the health risk to the general population is low overall, and the individuals at greatest risk of infection are the elderly and people with pre-existing condition.

Dr. Robert "Wesley" Farr, a lecturer in the University of West Florida Department of Health, specializes in environmental health and infectious diseases. Offering his take on COVID-19, he said people should absolutely follow best practices like washing their hands and covering their coughs.

He added, however, that people shouldn't be living in fear or panicking.

"For people who are elderly or who have an immuno-suppressive condition or a compromised immune system, they may want to be more careful as far as avoiding travel and visiting a crowded places,” Farr said. "But for most healthy individuals, life should continue as normal."

Here's what you need to know about COVID-19

According to the Florida Department of Health, people who are currently at risk for COVID-19 include:

People who have traveled to or from an affected geographic area and who are experiencing fever and symptoms of lower respiratory illness such as coughing or shortness of breath

People who have had close contact with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 symptomatic patient and have a fever or symptoms of lower respiratory illness.

If a person thinks they have COVID-19, they should call their health care provider before going to their office so the provider can take precautions to prevent exposing other people.

People should also review signs, symptoms and travel history with their physician. The physician will evaluate patients for other possible causes of respiratory illness and contact the county health department to access COVID-19 testing. Those without health insurance or a health care provider should contact their county health department so the agency can coordinate medical evaluation and testing.

Most people with confirmed COVID-19 infection reportedly have mild to moderate respiratory illness that can be managed at home in coordination with health professionals. Some individuals with severe illness may require hospitalization.

To prevent the spread of germs, it is important for people to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and to wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. When water is not available, alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol is a viable alternative.

As of Thursday evening, the Florida Department of Health reported there were 69 pending COVID-19 tests, 248 people currently under public health monitoring and 948 people who have been monitored.

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