Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 22
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.
MORE RAPID TESTS COMING TO FLORIDA
6:05 p.m.: Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced two new contracts with laboratories that will increase COVID-19 testing capacity by 18,000 samples per day by using rapid tests.
The results will be available in one or two days, said DeSantis, who said he spoke with Abbott Laboratories CEO Robert Ford earlier in the day.
Read the full story here.
AN UPDATE ON FLORIDA’S UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS
4:40 p.m.: Unemployment claims in Florida climbed to more than 1.7 million, but the state has more than doubled the number of people who have received assistance in the last few days, new data shows.
More than 108,000 Floridians who filed for unemployment since March 15, when the state saw a historic spike in coronavirus-related claims, have been paid. That’s more than double the number of people — 40,193 — who were paid as of Monday.
But those who have been paid represent just 6 percent of the total number of filings, which grew by roughly 200,000 in the last few days.
Read the full story here.
FLORIDIANS WANT STATE’S STAY-AT-HOME ORDER TO CONTINUE, ACCORDING TO POLL
4 p.m.: A majority of Florida voters say Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis should have responded sooner to the coronavirus pandemic and are not ready for the state’s stay-at-home order to be lifted, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University.
Read the full story here.
DO THE OLD AND SICK NEED TO BE LOCKED UP DURING THE PANDEMIC?
3:25 p.m.: Four inmates, all over 60, have died from COVID-19 and nearly 4,000 inmates in Florida are in medical quarantine because they’ve been exposed to the virus.
There are currently about 23,000 Florida inmates over 50, a population that has increased by 12.5 percent over the past five years as the overall prison population has shrunk. They are an expensive group to maintain, even when there isn’t a pandemic afoot.
Read the full story here.
MAIL VOTING EXPECTED TO ‘EXPLODE’ IN FLORIDA BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS
2:40 p.m.: Elections offices in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — home to more than a quarter of Florida’s 13.2 million voters — are preparing to send vote-by-mail registration forms to every voter in those counties amid worries that the virus will disrupt in-person voting this summer and fall.
Elections supervisors and political organizations around the state asked Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis weeks ago to provide flexibility under state law to help them administer the upcoming elections. They’re still waiting for an answer, and in the meantime are widely encouraging voting at home.
Read the full story here.
SIX FEET MAY NOT BE ENOUGH SOCIAL DISTANCE
1:15 p.m.: Staying six feet apart may not be enough when it comes to social distancing.
According to researchers at FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, a preliminary flow visualization experiment in the lab suggests that a cough, especially a forceful one, can spray droplets twice that distance.
Read the full story here.
FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
12:35 p.m.: On Wednesday morning, Florida’s Department of Health confirmed 440 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 28,309. The statewide death toll has jumped to nearly 900, with 26 new deaths announced. The death toll is now at 893.
Wednesday’s data for South Florida was not immediately available.
Read the full update on Florida’s case numbers here. The state’s numbers will be updated again Wednesday evening.
SHARK TANK INVESTOR TRIED TO SELL N95 MASKS AT A HIGH PRICE TO STATE
12:20 p.m.: The price would have been one of the highest the state would agree to pay for the highly coveted N95 protective mask: $7 a piece for 1 million masks.
The source of the offer had cachet and seemed legit. He was Daymond John, CEO of the Shark Group and one of the stars of the popular TV show “Shark Tank.” He said he could get them for Florida but the cost would be more than three times the market price for the masks, which normally sell for under $2 each.
Deals had been falling through for weeks and Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management, decided the state would pay any price to get them into the hands of desperate healthcare workers in COVID-19 hot zones in Florida.
Read the full story here.
DIAPERS TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN MIAMI AMID PANDEMIC
11 a.m.: Diapers are a hot commodity during the pandemic.
The Miami Diaper Bank has seen an increase of 600 percent in requests. In order to help with demand, The Children’s Trust has donated $95,000 to the diaper bank, or the equivalent of about 500,000 diapers.
The diapers will be given out over the next few months. One distribution drive will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday at Curley’s House of Style, at 6025 NW Sixth Court, with families having to pre-register for the event.
Read the full story here.
MAYOR OF MIAMI BEACH CALLED A ‘DICTATOR’ BY FINANCE CHAIR
10 a.m.: The mayor of Miami Beach is being labeled a “dictator” by the chair of the city’s finance committee over criticism that he has not yet rolled out a plan to reopen the city’s beaches and tourism-dependent economy.
Mayor Dan Gelber, who said he refuses to “gamble” with the lives of residents by reopening too soon, said the city has held daily calls with business leaders to come up with a strategy to restart the economy.
Read the full story here.
WHAT WILL MIAMI’S HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATIONS LOOK LIKE?
9:50 a.m.: On Tuesday, Miami-Dade County Public Schools released official details on what graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020 will look like.
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho had offered two possibilities: hold intimate graduations virtually, or postpone in-person graduations until all clear, even if months away. He held a Zoom video conference Friday with senior class leaders to solicit their input.
In a tweet addressed to the Class of 2020 on Monday, Carvalho revealed the consensus.
“My friends, not only can we do one, I promise you we can do both,” he said, emphasizing that students hoped that they could come back together as a class once more in the summer or later when restrictions are lifted. “Therefore, we are currently planning a virtual celebration ceremony of all of your accomplishments, individually celebrating each one of you. And then, sometime later on, the graduation you so richly earned and deserve.”
Read the full story here.
SANTA’S ENCHANTED FOREST WANTS TO MAKE THIS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
9:40 a.m.: Santa’s Enchanted Forest officially lost its home at Tropical Park just before the coronavirus crisis hit Miami-Dade, but the popular winter carnival sees the pandemic as a chance to provide a happy ending over the holidays.
On March 5, the county’s Parks Department ordered the festival to clear out of its 37-year home at the suburban park after Santa’s lease expired without an option to renew.
Now Santa’s Enchanted Forest is using the coronavirus crisis as a reason for Miami-Dade to return the event to its longtime home.
In an April letter to county commissioners released Tuesday, owner Steven Shechtman asked board members to look forward six months in a pandemic “that has changed life as we know it.”
“Our community will finally be heading outdoors and living the new normal,” he wrote. “The holidays will be upon us and Santa’s will be the leading venue for families, friends and charitable organizations to venture out safely to a joyful evening.”
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9:15 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Wednesday begins.
▪ Miami-Dade passes 10,000 cases, 1,000 hospitalizations as DeSantis says curve is flattening
▪ Coronavirus puts pressure on nursing home staff, jail system as infections rise
▪ Miami could offer small businesses loans and grants for coronavirus economic recovery
▪ Florida’s list of elder-care homes with COVID-19 lacks crucial data. It’s also incomplete
▪ A grim report details the toll on Miami-Dade cultural groups from the virus pandemic
▪ Publix to hold virtual job fair as demand increases in stores, and workers test positive
▪ John Connolly, ex-FBI agent doing time for Miami murder, wants out over coronavirus fears
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 22."
