Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 9
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.
From our columnists
3:45 p.m.: The latest thoughts and opinions on the coronavirus pandemic from our columnists
▪ From Carl Hiaasen: With DeSantis calling the shots, Florida will never get a true picture of coronavirus’ damage
▪ From Fabiola Santiago: Secrecy about coronavirus data leads to one conclusion: We’re on our own in Florida
▪ From our editorial board: In Florida, Gimenez leads as DeSantis lags and demands COVID-19 nursing-home data
Florida tops 40,000 confirmed coronavirus cases
12:15 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday morning confirmed 802 additional cases of COVID-19 — more than twice the number reported Friday morning when that 371 number represented the lowest the state had seen in a week. The state now has a total of 40,001 confirmed cases.
But fewer new deaths were reported Saturday than on Friday. On Saturday, 46 new deaths were reported. On Friday, 69 were announced.
The statewide death toll is currently 1,715.
Read the full story here.
Mother’s Day during coronavirus
9 a.m.: For these women, forgetting about the coronavirus is not an option.
They don’t like the term “hero,” but some go into work these days like it’s their own battlefield, to a hospital or a fire department, armed with face shields and boxes of latex gloves.
They care for families while they often risk the safety of their own. While some have witnessed fragile newborns take their first few breaths of life, others have felt the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic as their patients take their last.
For Mother’s Day, the Miami Herald spoke to six women about what they’ve lost and gained in motherhood in the era of coronavirus.
Read their stories here.
Miami’s poor can’t afford air conditioning amid pandemic
8:45 a.m.: The unprecedented economic collapse as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has made life miserable for countless South Floridians, but perhaps none so much as those who lack air conditioning, or must limit the use of their units because they can’t afford the bills. With most people spending more time at home — watching TV, playing video games and running their appliances — bills figure to skyrocket along with AC usage.
While much of the country boasts mild spring weather — though New England is supposed to get snow this weekend — South Florida has been sweltering. Temperatures in South Florida in April broke records: more than 6 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than usual.
Read the full story here.
More testing for the homeless
8:30 a.m.: A group working with the Homeless Trust, the tax-funded Miami-Dade County agency tasked with assisting people experiencing homelessness, has tested dozens of people living on Miami’s streets for COVID-19. The Trust operated a testing site at the shelter owned by the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa, near Jackson Memorial Hospital. Forty people were tested Wednesday.
The Trust expanded testing this week, with capacity expected to grow in the coming days when the organization receives an additional 500 test kits, said Ron Book, the Trust’s chairman. Over the last several weeks, the Trust has assembled three mobile testing teams. Book said the Trust will have access to the state-owned mobile lab for one day, May 18.
While the Trust expanded its efforts, Book was criticized by activist groups who said his organization did not react quickly or broadly enough to the spread of the coronavirus. In its stead, they have called on local governments to quickly house and test unhoused people.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
8:15 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Saturday begins.
▪ Floridians aren’t following virus safety measures, survey says. Thousands won’t stay home
▪ Florida’s lax oversight of nursing homes spills over from one deadly crisis to the next
▪ Navy’s Blue Angels salute South Florida’s healthcare teams and first responders
▪ At-home deaths are up in Miami-Dade, but ER visits are down. It could be COVID-19 fears.
▪ Miami restaurants may be reopening soon, but are buffets gone forever?
▪ Royal Caribbean crew go on hunger strike until company proves it is sending them home
▪ Florida Keys see over a 10 percent jump in COVID-19 numbers with nursing home cases
This story was originally published May 9, 2020 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 9."
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