134 Orlando International Airport employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, officials say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Central Florida in mid-March, officials at Orlando International Airport said Wednesday that 134 airport employees have tested positive for the virus.

After those 134 employees tested positive -- which includes employees of all the airlines, rental car companies, the Transportation Security Administration and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority -- an additional 128 people who are not employees of the airport but were traceable connections to those employees tested positive for the virus, officials said.

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Those numbers combined come to a total of more than 260 people, which Gov. Ron DeSantis mentioned during a news conference on Tuesday.

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“I hope this information clarifies what can be a confusing mix of data for the traveling public,” Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) Chief Executive Officer Phil Brown said. “We continue to work with all of our health department officials to ensure all is being done to keep the traveling public and our employees safe at Orlando International Airport.”

Officials said 132 of the airport employees who tested positive were tested between mid-March and June 6. They said an additional 500 airport employees were tested over three days last week, and that only two tests came back positive, bringing the total number of positive airport employee cases to 134.

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“That would calculate to be a 0.4% positivity rate for COVID-19 for those 500 tests,” Brown said. “(Orange County Medical Officer Dr. Raul Pino) also advised that he believes the use of masks and facial coverings at MCO and the observance of social distancing is a significant contributor to the low positivity rates.”

On Wednesday the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority voted to take safety measures a step further to make all 22,000 employees at Orlando International Airport wear masks in public areas at the airport.

Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for updates.

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