Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 29
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.
SOUTH FLORIDA NOT REOPENING WITH REST OF STATE
6 p.m.: Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida will start lifting stay-at-home orders starting Monday.
In a plan he’s labeling, “Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step,” DeSantis said Wednesday that the state will take a “very slow and methodical approach” to reopening in order to convince the public it’s safe.
The orders won’t apply to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, however, where the epidemic has hit hardest.
Read the full story here.
UDONIS HASLEM DELIVERS LUNCH TO CORONAVIRUS FRONTLINE WORKERS
5:30 p.m.: Veteran Heat forward and Miami native Udonis Haslem left his home briefly Wednesday afternoon to deliver lunch from his restaurant co-owned with Dwyane Wade, 800 Degrees, to Memorial Hospital West staff in Pembroke Pines. Haslem wanted to honor “the real heroes” working on the front lines.
Included in his delivery was 800 Degrees pizza, wings, and salad for the staff to enjoy.
Haslem said the reason he chose to treat the staff at this location of Memorial Healthcare Systems is because of the care he received at Memorial Hospital West in 2010 for a blood clot, adding, “They saved my life. I can’t wait to come back here without my mask and gloves to thank them in-person.”
‘MIAMI SHINES’ EFFORT AIMS TO PROMOTE TOURISM WHEN HOTELS REOPEN
4:50 p.m.: Beaches and most hotels are still closed. Cruise ships are docked. Nevertheless, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau wants to “keep Miami top of mind as a travel destination” and “provide a sense of relief to those craving travel experiences while anxious and confined at home” during the coronavirus pandemic.
To that end, the bureau this week started rolling out a trilingual “Miami Shines” recovery campaign. The full program won’t be deployed until hotels are reopened for tourists, which the bureau anticipates will be sometime in June, according to Rolando Aedo, chief operating officer of the GMCVB.
In the meantime, through imagery and words, the message is that Miami’s natural beauty and global vibe are still here, awaiting the return of visitors when the time is right.
Read the full story here.
SEC CHARGES FLORIDA COMPANY WITH LYING ABOUT N95 MASKS
2:40 p.m.: A West Palm Beach company’s claims about available N95 masks added up to nothing but securities fraud, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged in a federal court filing on Tuesday.
Praxsyn has tried to say that the only thing here is just a failure to communicate clearly.
Read the full story here.
PARKS REOPEN IN MIAMI-DADE
12:55 p.m.: Park visits in Miami-Dade became welcome and legal again at 6 a.m. when Mayor Carlos Gimenez lifted his March 18 emergency order closing recreational facilities countywide.
Wednesday’s reopening brought a patchwork of new rules and enduring bans. The county’s three largest cities — Hialeah, Miami and Miami Gardens — said it’s too early to reopen their parks and executed orders to keep them closed. Other cities imposed stricter rules than the county, including closing the municipal basketball courts that Gimenez said could be open as long as games are banned.
Miami Beach opted to keep its basketball courts closed. But the sea wall at South Pointe Park remained open.
Check out this story for some of the early scenes from Wednesday’s reopening of parks, golf courses and marinas around Miami-Dade ...
STATE TRANSFERS PRISON INMATES AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
12:15 p.m.: In an effort to separate the healthy from the sick and limit the spread of COVID-19, the Florida Department of Corrections has transferred 60 inmates from one of the most thoroughly infected prisons in the state to another compound with only one reported case.
The inmates came from Tomoka Correctional in Daytona Beach, which has had a total of 84 inmates and 11 staffers test positive. The transferred inmates’ new home is Columbia Correctional in Lake City, which has had only one staffer test positive.
The department says these transferred inmates were handpicked because they hadn’t been exposed. They had not been tested, however, to ensure they don’t have the virus, leaving families, inmates, officers and experts concerned about possible spread. The incoming inmates are being quarantined at Columbia for two weeks.
Read the full story here.
FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
12 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Wednesday morning confirmed 347 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 33,193 as the governor prepares to announce “Phase 1” of the state’s reopening plans. There were 47 new deaths also announced, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,218.
Miami-Dade County (11,927 confirmed COVID-19 cases) and Broward County (4,898 confirmed COVID-19 cases) combine to make up 50.7 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 Thursday morning.
FLORIDA COVID-19 TRACKER
10:45 a.m.: Tracking the trends of known coronavirus cases and deaths is a critical factor in understanding whether we are “flattening the curve” of new infections. This page will be updated daily to visualize trends across Florida.
MSC EXTENDS CRUISE SUSPENSION INTO SUMMER
9:50 a.m.: MSC announced Wednesday it plans to resume cruising July 10. Previously it halted all new cruises until May 29. Affected guests receive a 125% credit for a future cruise to be taken before Dec. 31, 2021.
Read the full story here.
WHO’S ALLOWED TO STAY AT MIAMI-DADE HOTELS RIGHT NOW?
9:40 a.m.: While most Miami-Dade County hotels are closed during the coronavirus crisis, 126 remain open exclusively for “essential lodgers” — including first responders, healthcare workers, airline crew members and displaced travelers.
But it is hardly business as usual at those properties, which are running at 20 percent occupancy. That’s a slide of 75 percent from a year ago, according to the latest data from STR, an industry tracking firm.
Hotel bars, restaurants, swimming pools and gyms are closed. There is no room service. No breakfast buffet. No congregating in the lobbies.
Read the full story here.
PREPARING FOR THE NEW NORMAL IN SOUTH FLORIDA
9:30 a.m.: On Wednesday, Miami-Dade County initiated phase one of its plan to return community life to a semblance of normalcy, opening parks, golf courses and marinas with strict social distancing rules in place. Business owners hope that means reopening businesses will follow soon after.
But there’s no timeline yet, and many thorny questions are still unanswered. How can a family go out to dinner safely in a world with COVID-19? How can a gym, where equipment is shared and space is often limited, prevent an outbreak? How can friends toast at the bar during happy hour under social distancing?
Read the full story here.
MOST MIAMI-DADE PARKS, MARINAS, GOLF COURSES OPEN TODAY
9:20 a.m.: The closed gates at parks, marinas and golf courses can swing open Wednesday in Miami-Dade County. That means people who have felt shut in since the shutdown can now have some open space.
What was the scene like Wednesday morning at some parks?
Just past sunrise, Pelican Harbor Marina, a popular launching spot along Biscayne Bay that is nestled between mainland Miami and North Bay Village, was empty of vessels.
What was there: Miami-Dade County employees, some at the main gate checking to see if boaters had proper tags and some on carts patrolling the parking lot. Also on on hand, several Miami-Dade police.
Also at the entrance was a large LED sign telling boaters to remember to stay six feet apart.
At Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach, there was a line of cars waiting to get in just minutes before gates opened.
But not all Miami-Dade parks are opening Wednesday. The county’s three largest cities, Miami, Hialeah and Miami Gardens, are keeping their parks closed Wednesday.
If you are going to a park, marina or golf course as they reopen today, there are rules you will need to follow. Here’s a look at the guidelines, which will be enforced.
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 Wednesday begins.
▪ Florida coronavirus cases surpass 32,800 as the death toll grows by 83, highest in 1 day
▪ Anyone can now get a COVID-19 test at Hard Rock Stadium as standards loosen countywide
▪ Everglades, Biscayne national parks to remain closed, despite Miami-Dade order
▪ 3 Aldi stores join list of South Florida grocers with coronavirus cases
▪ If your Florida unemployment claim was denied, state says you’re due a second chance
▪ How are landlords dealing with tenants who can’t pay May rent due to coronavirus?
▪ Miami man dies from coronavirus. So did all but one member of his family
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 9:21 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 29."
