“Shands Hospital of Gainesville Florida has confirmed its first case of coronavirus.”
Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida, hasn’t confirmed a coronavirus case
If your time is short
- As of March 2, 2020, the CDC has confirmed two cases of COVID-19 in Florida.
- Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida, has not confirmed a coronavirus case.
Wash your hands and beware suspicious-looking posts on social media claiming the novel coronavirus has arrived in your community.
“CNN Breaking News Update,” reads the text of what looks like a screenshot published on Facebook on March 1. “Shands Hospital of Gainesville Florida confirmed its first case of coronavirus.”
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Florida is among 12 states reporting cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
As of March 2, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed two cases in Hillsborough and Manatee counties. Gainesville is in Alachua County.
Shands Hospital in Gainesville is part of the the University of Florida Health medical network. A spokesman for UF Health did not immediately return PolitiFact’s call about the Facebook post.
But a member of UF Health’s communications team responded directly to the Facebook post saying he could “state we have no cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus to date.”
We rate this Facebook post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, March 1, 2020
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the U.S., updated March 3, 2020
Tampa Bay Times, CDC confirms Florida’s first two cases of coronavirus; more are expected, March 2, 2020
