Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on March 31
We’re keeping track of the latest news regarding the coronavirus in South Florida and around the state. Check back for updates throughout the day.
AGE LIMITS LOOSENED FOR MIAMI DRIVE-THROUGH TESTING
6:25 p.m.: On Tuesday, Miami loosened age restrictions on a drive-up coronavirus testing site at Hadley Park, allowing city residents as young as 45 to participate if they experience symptoms of COVID-19. And Marlins Park began offering drive-through testing for any adult with symptoms of the virus.
The looser rules follows a week of seniors-only testing at Marlins Park and of Miami limiting home testing to people 65 and over.
Read the full story here.
3 FHP MEMBERS TEST POSITIVE
6:10 p.m.: Three Florida Highway Patrol employees have tested positive for COVID-19, FHP said Tuesday. The three FHP members worked in Troops E, L and I.
The employee who worked in Troop E covered Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Troop L covers Broward, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. Troop I enforces commercial vehicles in North Florida, meaning the trooper who tested positive could work in any of the 34 counties the troop oversees.
Florida’s unemployment website still a mess
4:35 p.m.: State auditors warned Gov. Ron DeSantis last year that Florida’s unemployment website was still suffering major problems, including glitches, error messages and other problems that thousands of Floridians are now experiencing.
The consequences for delaying the fixes will be severe. The unreliable system is failing under an unprecedented crush of unemployment claims because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and many Floridians are unable to apply because the site keeps crashing.
Read the full story here.
Pitbull’s coronavirus anthem
3:40 p.m.: Leave it to Mr. 305 to lift Miami’s spirits during the coronavirus crisis.
The rapper came out with an awesome anthem, just in time.
Pitbull posted a sneak peek of the optimistic track, “I Believe We Will Win” over the weekend on social media. A black and white clip shows him on the roof of his Little Havana charter school SLAM! Our majestic skyline is in the background. He posed there for a reason, he said.
Read the full story here.
CITY OF MIAMI OFFERING IN-HOME TESTS
2:50 p.m.: In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, the City of Miami announced it “is now offering in-home #COVID19 testing for City of Miami residents — ages 45 & over. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms & have no access to transportation, please call 305-960-5050 for more information.”
Shut down construction sites, pleads top Miami-Dade home builder
2:45 p.m.: Sergio Pino, one of Miami-Dade’s leading builders issued a public plea Tuesday for the construction industry to shut down construction sites and prevent an outbreak of coronavirus among their workers.
“The only way to stop the spread of this virus is by cutting its roots,” Pino, president of Century Homebuilders, said in an email. Construction workers, he said, “continue to be exposed and have already been infected. This will result in a chain reaction across the board in all jobsites as long as they remain open.”
Read the full story here.
PUBLIX ALLOWING WORKERS TO WEAR GLOVES, MASKS
2:10 p.m.: Publix employees can now wear gloves and masks during the coronavirus pandemic after the company changed its policy, a spokeswoman for the supermarket chain said Tuesday. There are also reports that two more Publix workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
Read the full story here ...
EPIDEMIOLOGIST ADVISES FLORIDA TO SHUT DOWN
1:40 p.m.: One of the epidemiologists behind a coronavirus model that caught the attention of the White House has advised Florida’s state government to issue a statewide stay-at-home order.
Ali Mokdad, a professor at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said he told Florida’s top health official Monday night that the governor should issue a blanket stay-at-home order mandating the closure of non-essential businesses and social isolation in order to control the spread of the virus.
In defending his position to not shut down the entire state, Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week: “There are certain parts of the state where they have more sporadic cases, and to order someone not to be able to have a paycheck when them going to work is not going to have an effect on what we’re doing with the virus, that’s something that’s inappropriate.”
DeSantis issued a safer-at-home order on Monday for Southeast Florida, which includes Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties.
Read the full story here.
FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS POSTPONED UNTIL MAY
1:30 p.m.: The Florida High School Athletic Association has postponed all athletic events through at least May 3 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic but has not completely ruled out the possibility of spring sports continuing, even if it means extending seasons into June.
Sports impacted by this include baseball, softball, track and field, tennis, lacrosse, water polo, boys’ volleyball, flag football and boys’ weightlifting. Spring football was also set to begin on April 27.
EXPOSURE AT NOVA SOUTHEASTERN?
1:10 p.m.: Despite suspecting some of its community members may have contracted COVID-19 and knowing some with symptoms were currently isolated in its dorms, Nova Southeastern University went ahead with plans to host new students on campus, potentially exposing more than 150 people to the novel coronavirus.
The private institution announced Saturday, March 14 that six people affiliated with the university had tested positive for the respiratory illness upon returning from a 12-day school trip to Ireland.
FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
12:05 p.m.: On Tuesday morning, Florida’s Department of Health announced 634 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 6,338. Six new deaths were also announced, raising the death toll to 77.
It was unclear Tuesday morning if there were any new confirmed cases of the disease in South Florida.
The state’s case numbers will next be updated Tuesday evening.
TWO LOCAL WHOLE FOODS MARKET WORKERS TEST POSITIVE
11:50 a.m.: Two workers at Whole Foods Market in Fort Lauderdale have tested positive for COVID-19, the chain confirmed by email Tuesday morning.
The store, 2000 N. Federal Hwy., underwent “an additional cleaning and disinfection, on top of our current enhanced sanitation measures,” Whole Foods said.
WILL SOUTH FLORIDA’S HEAT SLOW THE CORONAVIRUS?
10:45 a.m.: Will all of this heat in South Florida kill, or at least, slow the spread of the coronavirus in Miami-Dade and Broward — the state’s “hot spots” for COVID-19?
Too soon to say, according to current studies like one recently released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And it’s still unknown for certain how the coronavirus will behave come the official start of summer on June 21.
PUERTO RICO’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
10 a.m.: Puerto Rico’s Health Department on Tuesday said it had confirmed 65 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, taking the total number to 239. There were also two additional deaths: a 53-year-old woman from Bayamón and a 66-year-old woman in Caguas.
Since the coronavirus was first reported in this U.S. territory on March 13, it has killed eight people.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9:05 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Tuesday begins.
▪ After 18 days of quarantine, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Monday afternoon he received a second negative test for COVID-19 and was cleared to leave his home.
▪ Two Royal Caribbean crew members — one from the Symphony of the Seas and one from the Oasis of the Seas — were “medically evacuated” from their respective ships Monday at Port Everglades, the cruise line confirmed.
▪ An employee at the Miami Beach Trader Joe’s received a positive COVID-19 test Saturday, the chain confirmed.
▪ Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced Monday that all private swimming pools and gyms must close. He targeted condominiums and apartment buildings where pools, gyms and other recreational or communal areas have remained open.
▪ Bureaucratic drama continued Monday over two checkpoints Monroe County put up Friday to keep non-residents out of the Florida Keys to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. But the checkpoints are staying put.
▪ The CEO of Jackson Health System, Carlos Migoya, tested positive last week for COVID-19.
▪ The Redland staple Knaus Berry Farm announced over the weekend it will close three weeks ahead of schedule because of COVID-19 concerns. The farm does not reopen until October.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 9:08 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on March 31."
