Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 30
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.
ANTIVIRAL DRUG OFFERS HOPE AT TWO SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITALS
6:30 p.m.: For more than a week, doctors at two South Florida hospitals have been administering a closely watched antiviral, remdesiver, and studying the effects it has for treating COVID-19. Fewer than 20 patients in South Florida have received the drug so far.
On Wednesday, the prospects became more encouraging for the medicine, developed by the California-based Gilead Sciences initially to treat Ebola virus, when the early results from a clinical trial were made public. The trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health, showed that people who received the drug recovered quicker and died less often.
In South Florida, the drug has been used, under conditions set by the company, for six patients at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach and nine patients at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
Read the full story here.
MIAMI BEACH ISSUES WARNINGS FOR NO FACE MASK AT OPEN PARKS
4:55 p.m.: Miami Beach police reported that 652 people were issued warnings Wednesday for not wearing face masks while at the city’s newly reopened recreational spaces. Additionally, 145 people were removed from parks after closing time, and 23 social distance warnings were issued.
City Manager Jimmy Morales, who authorized the city to ease its shutdown measures in compliance with a county order, called it a “very challenging day one” and said he would consider closing back down if residents do not follow the new rules.
Read the full story here.
PAY CUTS FOR TOP OFFICIALS MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH FOR UM AMID CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
3:20 p.m.: The University of Miami stands to lose “hundreds of millions of dollars over the coming year” due to the financial havoc wreaked by the novel coronavirus, according to an email sent this week by President Julio Frenk to the Canes community.
To help offset the projected losses of closing campus this spring and summer and possibly the fall, Frenk said his administration will expand budget cuts announced earlier this month and implement new measures, including pay reductions for top officials, and the suspension of merit-based salary raises and of UM contributions to employee retirement plans.
Additionally, Frenk warned the private university is considering layoffs and furloughs: “A reduction in workforce may become unavoidable,” he said.
Read the full story here.
ARE MASKS REQUIRED TO EXERCISE AT MIAMI-DADE, BROWARD PARKS?
3 p.m.: People are taking advantage of South Florida’s open parks across Miami-Dade and Broward after weeks of being locked inside their homes during the state’s COVID-19 shutdown. Some are jogging, riding bikes or walking with masks or face coverings.
It’s part of a new set of county rules that went into effect with the reopening of select parks and recreational facilities early Wednesday.
Here’s what to know about the counties’ rules for masks and social distancing ...
MONROE COUNTY FIREFIGHTERS TO HELP STAFF CORONAVIRUS CHECKPOINTS
2:20 p.m.: Monroe County firefighters will help staff the Florida Keys COVID-19 checkpoints beginning Monday.
Members of the department will work a total of four 12-hour shifts over a two-week period ending May 18, according to an email from fire-rescue leadership to staff.
The sheriff’s office has staffed and commanded the checkpoints on the 18 Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 and County Road 905 for the past five weeks. However, according to the email, sent to firefighters, those departments “are now requesting relief from this assignment.”
However, according to an email sent to firefighters, those departments “are now requesting relief from this assignment.”
Read the full story here.
AVENTURA MALL’S FARMERS MARKET OPENS AS DRIVE THROUGH
1:10 p.m.: The Aventura Mall is opening a farmers market this weekend — and you don’t need to get out of your car to shop there. At the new curbside version of the market, you pre-order and pre-pay, then pick them up via drive-through system.
Here’s what to do: visit aventuramall.com/aventura-market to check out the menus of individual vendors. Pre-order by calling or texting individual vendors (a few will let you order on the website). Pre pay using such services as Venmo, Zelle, Cash App and PayPal (cash is not accepted).
When you arrive at the mall, don’t get out of the car — a vendor will put your package in the back seat or trunk.
Here’s more information on the market.
FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
12:30 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday morning confirmed 497 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 33,690. Health officials also announced 50 new deaths statewide, bringing the death toll to 1,268.
Miami-Dade County (12,063 confirmed COVID-19 cases) and Broward County (4,953 confirmed COVID-19 cases) combine to make up 50.5 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 Friday morning.
MORE THAN 300 MIAMI JAIL INMATES HAVE CORONAVIRUS
11:20 a.m.: Over 300 Miami-Dade jail inmates have now tested positive for the novel coronavirus, sources confirmed to the Miami Herald on Thursday as a federal judge criticized conditions behind bars but declined to order anyone released.
The dramatic statistic is the result of expanded testing, and comes amid an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by a group of inmates seeking their release over fears of the highly contagious virus.
Read the full story here.
THE FACES ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE PANDEMIC IN MIAMI
10:30 a.m.: In order to capture these images of healthcare warriors in Miami, Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald photojournalists visited six different hospitals that agreed to let us in and set up a background and lights. Then they waited until the end of the shift to document the moment.
WHAT WILL SCHOOL IN MIAMI-DADE LOOK LIKE IN AUGUST?
10:20 a.m.: At Wednesday’s School Board meeting held via video conference, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho talked about what might have to change in order to return to the schoolhouse — and laid out a plan for struggling students who may have fallen further behind during the coronavirus pandemic.
For the general population, it could be using schools with lower enrollments (and therefore more capacity) for social distancing and temperature checks at the door. For those students who need extra help, it means an earlier start to the school year, longer school days and a jump start on Saturday school.
Recommendations will come before the board in June, though plans could shift due to the unpredictable nature of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“We want to be prepared for a whole host of possibilities that may unfold through the summer months leading to August 2020,” Carvalho said.
Read the full story here.
FLORIDA JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE BY 326,000
10 a.m.: Florida registered the largest increase in initial unemployment claims of any state for the week ending April 25, rising by 326,251 to total of more than half a million, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.
Florida’s sharp increase is likely due to improvements in the state’s disfunctional unemployment system.
Read the full story here.
THE HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD’S TAKE
9:50 a.m.: In reopening most of the state of Florida in response to some encouraging coronavirus statistics, Gov. Ron DeSantis gets to take a victory lap. And the pressure to follow suit now falls to leaders in South Florida, including, and especially, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez.
Here’s the rest of the Miami Herald Editorial Board’s message.
WHAT DOES MIAMI LOOK LIKE WITHOUT PEOPLE?
9:40 a.m.: For two City of Miami Police Mounted Patrol officers, the sight of an eerily vacant downtown — completely devoid of the usual bustle and traffic and noise and pedestrians — took some getting used to amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ve never experienced something like this,” said Officer Ruben Gonzalez, who has patrolled the area with his partner Officer Loisel Cruz for the last 18 months. “For me, this has been totally new.”
Read the full story here.
MIAMI-DADE CORONAVIRUS HOSPITALIZATIONS LEVELING OFF
9:35 a.m.: The number of inpatients with COVID-19 at Miami-Dade County’s hospitals has leveled off at about 650 to 700 each day for the past two weeks as the county begins a gradual reopening starting with marinas, parks and golf courses.
But with Miami-Dade still outpacing the rest of the state in the rate of new COVID-19 cases and deaths — and epidemiologists warning that it generally takes two to four weeks of dropping numbers to show solid progress against the disease — the novel coronavirus remains a threat in the hardest-hit county in Florida.
“We still have many cases. We’re by no means over the hill yet,” said Mary Jo Trepka, an infectious-disease specialist at Florida International University.
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 Thursday begins.
▪ Florida coronavirus cases push past 33,000. Death toll rises to 1,218
▪ Governor announces reopening plan for state, but South Florida isn’t included yet
▪ Sweaty masks, delighted golfers, watchful guards: Parks reopen in Miami-Dade
▪ Going to a park, marina or golf course as recreation reopens in Miami-Dade? There are rules
▪ Parks in Miami-Dade, Broward are reopening. Here’s what parks are open and closed
▪ It’s still hard to get tested without a car. Here’s who that hurts most in Miami-Dade
▪ ‘Miami Shines’ effort aims to whet wanderlust for the time when hotels reopen
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on April 30."
