Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 17
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.
Friday night numbers update
6:55 p.m.: Florida had 1,413 new reported cases of COVID-19 Friday, the highest number of new cases since the outbreak began more than a month ago, according to the state’s Department of Health. It also reported 58 new deaths since Thursday evening.
The state is nearing 25,000 cases as health officials reported the total at 24,753. The death toll is now at 726.
Read the full story here.
ICE inmate with COVID-19 to be released
6:10 p.m.: An immigration inmate who tested positive for the coronavirus while at Miami’s Krome detention center is going to be released, according to court records.
The 27-year-old Mexican national, who has been in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for about three months, is one of two detainees and three security guards at Krome who officials say contracted the illness at the facility.
The man’s attorney, like thousands of others across the country, scrambled when the pandemic began in early March to file a “humanitarian parole” request, explaining how his client would be in imminent danger of catching COVID-19 in a crowded jail without the opportunity to practice social distancing.
Read the full story here.
HCA hospitals restrict N95 mask usage
5:35 p.m.: Florida’s largest private hospital system will restrict N95 respirator masks for use only when healthcare workers are performing medical procedures that could cause the novel coronavirus to become airborne, such as intubating patients for a ventilator or performing a bronchoscopy, according to copies of new guidelines obtained by the labor union representing nearly 10,000 workers of the for-profit hospital corporation.
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers at HCA Florida hospitals will use surgical masks and face shields during all other interactions with patients who have tested positive for — or are suspected of having — COVID-19, the guidelines say.
Read the full story here.
Keys city easing marina ramp restriction
4:55 p.m.: In a slight easing of the restrictions put in place to combat the novel coronavirus last month, the Village of Islamorada in the Florida Keys on Monday will reopen the boat ramp at its municipal marina.
The ramp, lat Founders Park/Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina at mile marker 87, will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, according to a statement issued Friday from the village.
Read the full story here.
Perez Art Museum cuts staff
4:40 p.m.: Pérez Art Museum Miami said Friday it has laid off 15 full-time workers, furloughed 54 part-timers and instituted salary cuts for the remaining 49 employees.
After the museum closed March 16 to avoid the spread of COVID-19, the museum’s board formed at task force to examine expenses and deemed the staff cut unavoidable, said PAMM director Franklin Sirmans. Salaries account for about 43% of the county-supported museum’s annual $15 million budget.
Read the full story here.
Archdiocese of Miami schools not reopening this year
3:45 p.m.: All schools in the Archdiocese of Miami will not be reopening and will stay online for the rest of the school year.
In a letter sent Friday to families whose children attend archdiocesan schools in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, Superintendent Kim Pryzbylski said learning will remain online until the last day of school June 3.
“We have heard from parents, principals and teachers on the ‘new normal’ which requires all of us to plan, review and adjust,” she wrote. “As of today, April 17, students will continue with the virtual learning through June 3 to complete the 2019-2020 school year.”
Read the full story here.
As some beaches in state open, some call it a ‘crazy, bad idea’
3:05 p.m.: Beaches and parks were to reopen in parts of North Florida at 5 p.m. Friday, but not everyone is thrilled that this aspect of social isolation apparently has ended.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is considering opening spaces in phases and is to address it in Friday afternoon news conference via Zoom, his spokeswoman said.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said that parks and beaches in Duval County would reopen Friday but with certain restrictions.
Read the full story here.
More than 150 temporarily furloughed at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
2:25 p.m.: President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort said it began temporarily furloughing 153 workers in March, according to a notice filed with the state of Florida and reported by the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity Friday.
The news comes days after Trump’s Doral golf club and resort reported layoffs and furloughs totaling 560.
In a letter dated March 27 and addressed to the DEO, Palm Beach County and the city of Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago’s director of human resources stated that the private membership club had begun halting business to avoid the spread of coronavirus. The move followed a directive issued by Palm Beach County on March 26 that all non-essential businesses had to close.
Read the full story here.
Lunchtime headlines
1:25 p.m.: A selection of recently posted stories from early this afternoon to keep you updated.
▪ Can you catch coronavirus from a dead body? It’s a possibility, researchers say
▪ Miami-Dade’s unemployment rate more than doubled in March as statewide unemployment soars
▪ Latin America and Caribbean yet to hit coronavirus surge; most are tightening measures
Walk-up testing sites opening in Broward County
12:50 p.m.: While Gov. Ron DeSantis has touted the dozens of drive-thru COVID-19 test sites as a safe, free and efficient way for people to get tested without getting out of their vehicles or, in The Villages, golf carts, one key population was left out: those who don’t drive.
That changes Saturday, when two walk-up sites open in Broward County — one at the Urban League of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale and the other at Mitchell Moore Park in Pompano Beach.
The sites, staffed by 60 Florida National Guardsmen, will each provide 200 tests daily to those in Broward, which has the second most confirmed positive cases of the novel coronavirus in the state behind Miami-Dade.
Read the full story here.
How (and when) gig workers who lost their jobs can file for unemployment
12:35 p.m.: Florida has a greater percentage of its workforce classified as independent contractors or gig economy workers than any other state in the country, but in the three weeks since the federal government passed an unemployment assistance act that is supposed to help them, they’ve been unable to tap into the aid.
On Thursday, after workers and lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to figure out how the overwhelmed state-run unemployment system will handle their claims, the state announced it is planning to launch a separate claims site for gig workers — but it won’t be ready for another seven to 10 days.
Read the full story here.
Friday morning case number update
11:15 a.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Friday morning confirmed 779 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 24,119. There were 18 additional deaths announced, raising the statewide death toll to 686.
Of the new deaths, 12 were in South Florida, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
Read the full story here.
Miami Heat face masks benefit food banks
10:45 a.m.: Face masks are the new hottest fashion trend in the COVID-19 era, and the NBA and Miami Heat are diving right in.
The NBA and WNBA partnered with Fanatics to release a line of team-branded face cloth coverings. Masks are available with logos from all 30 NBA teams and all 12 WNBA teams, including the Heat.
“As a global community, we can all play a role in reducing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic by following the CDC’s recommendation to cover our nose and mouth while in public,” said Kathy Behrens, NBA president of social responsibility and player programs. “Through this new product offering, NBA and WNBA fans can adhere to these guidelines while joining in the league’s efforts to aid those who have been directly affected by COVID-19.”
Read the full story here.
Baptist Health develops its own coronavirus test
9:20 a.m.: Baptist Health South Florida has received emergency approval from federal regulators to begin using a test it developed on its own for the novel coronavirus, one of a dozen hospital labs across the country to receive the clearance.
The test has a turnaround time of 24 hours or less. It is not considered rapid or particularly high volume, carrying the ability to test 40 to 80 samples a day, once testing ramps up at Baptist Health’s Miami Cancer Institute lab, which will be conducting tests for the health system’s hospital patients and healthcare workers.
Read the full story here.
Cases keep climbing at Pembroke Pines VA nursing home
9:10 a.m.: A dozen military veterans residing at a state VA nursing home in Pembroke Pines have become infected with the coronavirus, six times as many as were first diagnosed last month when the pandemic struck Florida, officials said.
Of those, eight veterans are hospitalized with the COVID-19 disease, according to the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. The other four are not showing symptoms of the respiratory disease but are being isolated at the Alexander Nininger Jr. State Veterans Nursing Home.
Read the full story here.
Will passengers come back to cruises?
9:05 a.m.: Despite mass cancellations of voyages, Miami-based Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings — the three largest cruise companies — have raised enough cash to last at least 10 cruise-less months, according to analysts. The fourth largest, MSC Cruises, is privately held.
But will people want to cruise again after thousands have been infected with COVID-19 after cruises and dozens have died?
That’s the million dollar question, said Rockford Weitz, director of the Tufts University maritime studies program.
So far the industry has disputed federal health officials’ repeated warnings that cruise ships are a more dangerous place for infectious disease spread than other environments. If companies want a shot at luring back customers, Weitz said, they better accept reality.
Read the full story here.
Catch up to start the day
9 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Friday begins.
▪ State reports one in five COVID-19 deaths are in elder-care homes. ‘It’s personal now.’
▪ Why stranded U.S. citizens have to pay so much for repatriation flights
▪ Just 33,000 unemployment claims processed ‘not nearly enough,’ Gov. DeSantis says
▪ Florida has third day of low reported coronavirus cases, but thousands of tests are pending
▪ ‘We’ve almost lost hope.’ Miami restaurants won’t survive on takeout and delivery
▪ The government has run out of small business stimulus loans. Here’s how Florida fared.
▪ Davie police chief replaced after allegedly saying BSO deputy died of virus because he was gay
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 17."
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