Florida pair arrested for breaking COVID-19 quarantine order

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Jose Freire Interian was walking his dog near his Key West home when a neighbor began recording him on her cellphone. Hours later, police came knocking on his door with an arrest warrant and whisked Freire and his wife to the county jail.

The charge: violating quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.

As a national debate swirls over masks and self-quarantines, communities are grappling over how aggressively they should enforce myriad rules meant to control the spread of the novel strain of coronavirus, which has now infected more than 460,000 in Florida and killed nearly 6,600 of its residents.

“It’s a national debate up until the health department tells you to quarantine, and then there’s no more debate," Key West City Manager Greg Veliz said Thursday.

“If the law allows someone to be arrested for violating a quarantine order and they continue to thumb their nose at the law — yeah, they should be arrested," Veliz said.

Intense debate over masks, business closures and social distancing have raged since the start of the outbreak. Arrests have been rare, but there have been occasional flare ups.

In May, a Kentucky woman infected with the virus was arrested while shopping for groceries. Authorities accused her of “wanton endangerment” and “criminal mischief,” according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

That same month, a coronavirus patient was chased down and arrested in Nashville after being placed under quarantine by public health officials.

In Hawaii last month, 21 travelers were arrested for breaking the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine. None tested positive for the coronavirus.

Veliz said the Florida couple was arrested Wednesday after police received a complaint and a video showing a possible violation of a...