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Orange County loses out on $154M after Coronavirus concerns cause convention cancellations

Mayor said the county is open for business

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the county has lost roughly $154 million in potential economic impact after three conventions canceled this week.

[RELATED: Health IT conference Trump planned to attend in Orlando canceled amid coronavirus fears]

Mayor Demings said leisure travelers continue to visit the county and the theme parks.

“We are open for business,” Demings said.

The virus has had no impacts on leisure travel to the county, according to Demings.

At this time there are no known cases of Coronavirus in Orange County, according to the mayor.

[RELATED: Here’s how Orlando airport is preparing amid Coronavirus concerns]

Five people from Florida are quarantined out of state.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said only four cases of residents in Florida have tested positive for the virus.

The risk of the virus remains low in Orange County, according to Demings.

[RELATED: Fourth Florida coronavirus case awaiting federal confirmation]

“As we test more individuals there is a possibility we can find a positive case in our community and for that, we are also ready,” Dr. Raul Pino said.

The county is canceling travel for county employees who were scheduled to work in high-risk areas.

The fourth case of the virus in the state is out of Santa Rosa County, the other three cases are in Hillsborough County and Manatee County.

Sixty-nine Florida patients are waiting on their test results, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Pino said Orange County officials are ready.

“We have trained for these with many epidemics in the past, I’d like to remind the public we dealt with Ebola, SARS, MERS and we were always prepared,” Pino said.

Health officials are telling people to be aware of symptoms of the virus including lower respiratory illness, cough and or shortness of breath.

The Center for Disease and Control said the signs could show up two days to two weeks after exposure.

CDC officials continue to remind people to wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.


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