Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 6
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.
FREE SHELTER RIDES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS IN 3 FLORIDA COUNTIES
5:45 p.m.: Domestic violence victims in three Florida counties have free transportation to shelters through a program announced Wednesday by Uber and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
The three Florida counties aren’t Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, the state’s epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic and places where sheltering-in-place remains in practice.
“Through our partnership, Uber will be donating free “rescue rides” directly to domestic violence shelters in Hillsborough, Orange and Pinellas counties, where we are seeing the highest volume of calls for help,” Moody said.
Read the full story here.
HOW MUCH CONTACT TRACING IS FLORIDA DOING?
3:45 p.m.: While some states are preparing to re-open their economies have hired armies of people to trace novel coronavirus infections, Florida won’t say if it has a long-term plan to keep the virus at bay through contact tracing — a labor-intensive method of tracking down newly infected people and their close contacts in an effort to isolate them and stop the disease from spreading.
Contact tracing is considered by public health experts as a critical part of suppressing a possible second wave of COVID-19, but at a news conference Wednesday, Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees offered little detail on the state’s efforts despite saying that “this is a way that we actually stop the cycle of transmission.”
Standing with Gov. Ron DeSantis at the Hard Rock Stadium coronavirus testing site in Miami Gardens, he described the efforts only in the broadest terms: “This is something we have in place. We’ve been doing it from the very beginning and are continuing to expand.”
What that expansion consists of remains a mystery. The health department Rivkees oversees has not described its plans or even explained its process for contact tracing, despite repeated questions.
Read the full story here.
MIAMI-DADE COVID-19 RESPONSE GETS UPGRADES
2:20 p.m.: The COVID-19 response in Miami-Dade got two upgrades Wednesday: the opening of a mask decontamination facility at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and a mobile testing laboratory that can process 500 tests per day from long-term care facilities around the county.
“We believe this will be a game changer,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis, who toured the facilities Wednesday.
Read the full story here.
NAVY’S BLUE ANGELS TO FLY OVER MIAMI
1:10 p.m.: The Blue Angels of the U.S. Navy will fly in formation above Miami to salute South Florida’s healthcare workers, frontline workers and first responders.
The flyover happens from 1 p.m. to 1:25 p.m. Friday, May 8, according to the city of Miami. The exact flight plan, with routes and overhead times, will be announced Thursday on the Blue Angels’ Twitter page.
MANY NURSING HOME WORKERS AROUND STATE STILL CAN’T GET PROTECTIVE GEAR
12:10 p.m.: Masks, gowns and gloves are the armor for the front line workers caring for the state’s most vulnerable residents at the 3,800 nursing homes and assisted living facilities across Florida, but as state officials claim to have enough supplies, both staff and administrators say there is a disconnect between the claims and the reality.
Staff told the Herald/Times that protective gear is either rationed or hoarded by management, leaving them exposed and working in fear. Administrators told us they have received some supplies from the state emergency stockpiles, but it is far short of meeting the need and supply shortfalls are constant.
From March 1 to April 30, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in nursing homes and assisted living facilities rose from zero to about 3,500. As of Wednesday, there were 3,141 active cases at long-term care facilities and 423 deaths, according to data released by the Florida Department of Health. Of the total cases, more than 1,500 were nursing home staff members.
Read the full story here.
FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
12 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Wednesday morning confirmed 563 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 38,002. There were 68 new deaths announced, raising the statewide death toll to 1,539.
Wednesday’s overnight death count was the third highest announced by the health department. Tuesday’s death toll tied with April 14 as the second highest number of deaths. The most deaths recorded in a single day was on April 28, with 83.
Read the full update on Florida’s case numbers here. The next update on Florida’s coronavirus numbers will come Thursday morning.
KIDS CONNECT WITH ISOLATED SENIORS
10 a.m.: Art has a way of bridging gaps. Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell and Coconut Grove art therapist Morgan DeFranco put their heads together and figured out a way to knit generations together through the barriers of social distancing, closed doors and masked faces.
Russell represents residents of several senior facilities in his District 2. DeFranco has a passion for combining art and technology to teach self expression. They created the Hearts Passion Project, a website built by DeFranco that enables kids to send their creations online to a person they choose by first name.
So far, the four-day-old site has a list of 500 seniors living in 12 facilities. Students from 15 schools were initially tapped to participate but the number of contributors is growing.
“The mental health consequences of isolation can be dire,” DeFranco said. “You’re used to looking forward to seeing friends and family and suddenly that face-to-face interaction is gone. Art helps heal depression and anxiety. If a kid made me a picture, even if I didn’t know exactly what it was, it would warm my heart.”
Read the full story here.
HOW MUCH MONEY WILL MIAMI-DADE CITIES LOSE DUE TO COVID-19?
9:40 a.m.: Miami-Dade County may be inching toward reopening its economy, but no one knows when it will return to any semblance of normalcy. For the local officials overseeing municipal budgets, that’s a tricky place to be: There will surely be revenue shortfalls, many say, but it’s almost impossible to predict just how much will be lost.
For now, the best they can do is take an educated guess. Some local governments have already made painful decisions, laying off or furloughing workers and freezing spending. Others are holding their breath and waiting before cutting staff and services.
But the prospects aren’t pretty. On Monday, the financial services company Moody’s downgraded its national outlook for local governments from “stable” to “negative,” citing a growing expectation that the economic recovery process from COVID-19 will be slow.
Read the full story here.
MIAMI’S PUBLIC HOSPITAL WILL DISCHARGE NURSING HOME RESIDENTS WITH COVID-19
9:30 a.m.: In mid-March, as COVID-19 cases began to spike in Miami-Dade, the county’s public health system decided to delay demolishing its old rehabilitation hospital, preparing to use it instead for a grim possibility: a wave of patients that could overwhelm its beds.
That surge hasn’t come, so Jackson Health System officials have found a new use for the building — a place to discharge people who are still testing positive for the virus and can’t yet go back to their nursing home. They’ll start moving patients there this week, a Jackson official said.
Read the full story here.
WHAT WILL THE NEW NORMAL BE FOR MIAMI-DADE MALLS WHEN THEY REOPEN?
9:20 a.m.: With varying restrictions in place, shopping malls have begun reopening in many places across America amid a still-raging coronavirus pandemic — though not yet in South Florida.
When they might reopen remains unclear. But when South Florida’s ever-popular malls — including some of the country’s largest — do throw open their doors, shoppers who venture in will be greeted by a workforce sporting the latest in today’s mandatory retail accessory: a mask. So will the sales staff who check them out, most from behind plexiglass partitions that have become part of the new everyday landscape at “essential” retailers such as grocers and drug stores.
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 Wednesday begins.
▪ State coronavirus cases pass 37,400 as South Florida death toll hits 830
▪ Months before Florida leaders had any clue, coronavirus was creeping through the state
▪ To reduce voting crowds, Miami-Dade sending out more than 500K mail-in ballot requests
▪ Shut-down shops in the Florida Keys start to reopen. But where are the customers?
▪ Disney takes $1 billion hit in earnings from coronavirus. Shanghai park to reopen Monday
▪ Court: Miami jail can’t be forced to give inmates soap, tests during coronavirus outbreak
▪ Will Florida’s heat help coronavirus? What about garlic? Here are some myths vs. facts
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 8:54 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 6."
