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Florida Rep. Chris Latvala back in the hospital with COVID-19

"Keep wearing masks, social distancing and washing your hands frequently," Latvala earlier wrote on Facebook.

LARGO, Fla. — Just days after posting he would be discharged from the hospital, Florida Rep. Chris Latvala says he's again being treated for COVID-19 complications.

The Republican representative made the announcement Friday evening on Facebook.

"My covid battle is not over," Latvala wrote. "I am back in the hands of medical professionals at Largo Medical. The [sic] is the hardest thing I have ever faced in my life. My trust is in the Great Physician above and the medical experts who will carry out His plan."

Latvala on Aug. 30 wrote he was experiencing symptoms of the virus for about a day or two and had been self-isolating. He, too, thanked the staff at Largo Medical Center and "all the heroes on the front lines of this pandemic." On Sept. 1, he expected to be discharged.

Latvala says his battle against COVID-19 reminds him of the thousands of lives lost throughout the pandemic -- now at 188,034 deaths in the U.S. and 11,811 in Florida, according to Johns Hopkins University and Medicine and the Florida Department of Health.

"Millions of people around the world are have [sic] worse cases than I," Latvala wrote. "Countless doctors and nurses died giving care to their patients. By any and all those measures I am an extremely blessed man."

From the onset of his illness, he reminded people to "keep wearing masks, social distancing and washing your hands frequently."

Latvala represents Florida House District 67 in parts of Pinellas County.

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