Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 27
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.
AT-HOME COVID-19 TESTING COMING TO HIALEAH
6 p.m.: The City of Hileah announced Monday that at-home COVID-19 testing will be available for any Hialeah resident who meets the following requirements:
▪ A senior 65 years and older displaying symptoms of COVID-19 and has no means to reach a testing center.
▪ Disabled adults 18 years and older displaying symptoms of COVID-19 and has no means to reach a testing center.
Here’s more information ...
FIRST MIAMI VA WORKER DIES FROM COVID-19
5:40 p.m.: A Miami VA Healthcare System employee who provided peer support for military veterans at an outpatient clinic in Broward County has died from COVID-19 — the first VA staffer to succumb to the respiratory disease since the coronavirus outbreak last month.
In an email, the Miami VA’s director Kalautie JangDhari confirmed the death of the staff employee but not the person’s name or job in the healthcare system serving Miami-Dade and Broward counties. A spokesperson for the Miami VA declined to provide additional information Monday.
Read the full story here.
MIAMI-DADE REOPENING PARKS, MARINAS, GOLF COURSES THIS WEEK
5 p.m.: On Wednesday Miami-Dade’s six-week closure order for parks will officially end, replaced by a new set of rules aimed at limiting close encounters during the coronavirus pandemic. That won’t mean all parks will be available, though, as Miami and other cities opt to keep municipal parks closed longer.
While the original county closure orders apply to municipal parks, cities are free to impose stricter rules. Two hours before Gimenez announced the lifting of his March 19 order closing parks and recreational facilities countywide, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said parks within city limits would remain closed.
NBA CHANGES PLANS TO REOPEN PRACTICE FACILITIES
4:15 p.m.: NBA players won’t be able to use practice facilities this week despite a previous plan to allow facilities to open starting Friday.
After receiving pushback from teams, the NBA announced Monday it is now “targeting no earlier” than a May 8 date for a reopening of team practice facilities in cities and states where local governments have loosened stay-at-home orders, and the league “may push this timing back if developments warrant.”
All NBA facilities have been closed to players and staff since March 20 amid the coronavirus pandemic. While the eventual reopening of league facilities will be a step in the right direction, it’s still unknown whether the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season will be played.
If the original timetable had been kept in place, it was unclear whether the Miami Heat would have been one of the teams allowed to open its practice facility to players Friday based on orders implemented by the local government.
Read the full story here.
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA WRITES LETTER TO SOUTH FLORIDA GIRL MAKING MASKS
3 p.m.: Mega producer/composer Lin-Manuel Miranda reached out to a young girl/huge “Hamilton” fan in Hollywood, who is making face masks for her Mitzvah Project.
The letter from Miranda arrived Friday.
“As we all do our part by staying home you’ve chosen to take on a little more. May the music of ‘Hamilton’ continue to accompany you in your honorable endeavor,” the star wrote.
Read the full story here.
DRIVE-THRU COVID-19 TESTING COMING TO CORAL GABLES
1:40 p.m.: On Monday, the commission approved Coral Gables City Manager Peter Iglesias’ plan for a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing site for Coral Gables residents. It will open on Friday.
The city is partnering with BioCollections Worldwide, the same company operating a testing site in Key Biscayne, to administer and process the nasal swab tests at a city-owned parking lot off LeJeune Road near the Shops at Merrick Park. The commission voted Monday to authorize up to $100,000 in city spending for the site, including tests that will cost $75 apiece with results available in 48 hours.
Only Coral Gables residents will have access to the tests. Those 65 and older with symptoms or underlying health conditions will take priority, followed by people under 65 with symptoms or underlying health conditions will be prioritized next. All other residents will be eligible if tests are still available.
Read the full story here.
KEY WEST REOPENS BEACHES AND PARKS
11:50 a.m.: Key West on Monday reopened its beaches, parks and recreational facilities for the first time since shutting them down March 16.
On Monday, City Manager Greg Veliz announced on Facebook that it was time to reopen some outdoor resources to locals after a six-week shutdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Two highway checkpoints are still in place in the Upper Keys to keep out tourists and visitors.
Read the full story here.
FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
11:15 a.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Monday morning confirmed 610 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 32,138. There were 14 new deaths announced since Sunday morning, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,088.
Miami-Dade County (11,570 confirmed COVID-19 cases) and Broward County (4,794 confirmed COVID-19 cases) combine to make up 50.9 percent of Florida’s confirmed case total.
Read the full update on Florida’s case numbers here. The state cut back to once-a-day updates Saturday, so the next update on Florida’s coronavirus numbers will come Tuesday morning.
ONE MIAMI JAIL HAS 159 INMATES POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS
10:10 a.m.: At least 159 inmates in just one Miami-Dade jail have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the county revealed in court documents filed over the weekend.
The scope of the viral outbreak at the Metro West Detention Center was revealed in court documents filed Saturday as part of a lawsuit filed by a group of inmates seeking their release from the jail because of conditions behind bars.
Officials also revealed that nearly 400 inmates at Metro West “are are being quarantined as a result of possible exposure to another individual who has COVID-19 or who has exhibited COVID-19 symptoms,” the county attorney’s office wrote.
Read the full story here.
HOW CORONAVIRUS HAS AFFECTED FUNERALS AND MOURNING PROCESS
9:35 a.m.: Two months ago, Jorge Rivero thought he knew everything to know about running a funeral home.
But despite a 30-year career and a multi-generational family history in the death care sector — his great grandfather was the first to get in the business with the 1947 inauguration of a funeral home in Havana — Rivero said nothing could have prepared him for the way coronavirus has altered his line of work.
“It’s a new game,” said Rivero, the current co-proprietor of the Vior Funeral Home at 291 NW 37th Ave. in Miami. “Everything has changed.”
Read the full story here.
SHOULD YOU LET WORKERS INTO YOUR HOME TO FIX APPLIANCES?
9:20 a.m.: Getting a technician to come into your home to fix the cable or wireless doesn’t just require an appointment during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also involves a questionnaire:
Has any one been sick or quarantined? Has anyone come in contact with someone who has or had COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus? Are you OK with following social distancing guidelines?
And for electricians, plumbers, air conditioning repair technicians and other in-home service workers, doing the job now comes with the added responsibility of suiting up, cleaning up and finding ways to do repairs with minimal contact.
“We are all having to do things a lot differently,” said Lucia Fonseca, one of the owners of Elekron Electric, which is based in Coral Gables.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9:10 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Monday begins.
▪ Florida confirmed coronavirus cases now over 31,500 — South Florida death toll at 629
▪ First COVID-19 testing site in Miami-Dade for people without cars opens Tuesday
▪ Doctors join DeSantis in appeal to non-COVID-19 patients to return to hospitals
▪ Coronavirus could push Latin America, Caribbean into deepest recession since 1930s
▪ Wine and Food founder hosts bake sale for laid off workers. It’s a sellout in minutes
▪ Barbers, stylists do their job up close and personal. None can work in the pandemic
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 27."
