Tampa International officials Joe Lopano, Veronica Cintron test positive for COVID-19

TAMPA — The top official at Tampa International Airport, CEO Joe Lopano, and vice president of communications Veronica Cintron have both tested positive for the coronavirus.

Lopano and Cintron, a former news anchor for Spectrum Bay News 9, were at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s celebratory arrival at the airport on Tuesday when the team returned to Tampa for the first time in two months after winning the Stanley Cup.

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which oversees the airport, announced their diagnosis late Friday.

Masks were mandatory for all media members covering the event. The returning Lightning players and their families were not required to wear masks. Most of the event was held outside.

“The Authority had events at (the airport) this week where face masks and social distancing were mandatory among all participants,” according to a statement from the airport.

Airport officials have started contacting all employees and associates who were in close contact with either Lopano or Cintron and will ask them to take a rapid-result test. All those who have been tested so far have received negative results, the authority said.

Both Lopano and Cintron are in quarantine. Lopano is experiencing no symptoms, the authority said, while Cintron is experiencing mild symptoms.

The airport will offer free rapid testing to employees and immediate family members this weekend. It will also continue a “rigorous sanitization of its facilities,” including its new coronavirus testing site for passengers.