Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 12
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.
UNIVERSAL WILL PARTIALLY REOPEN CITYWALK
6:40 p.m.: Following Walt Disney World’s announcement last week of reopening Disney Springs, Universal Orlando said Tuesday it will partially reopen its own entertainment district, CityWalk.
The company said that on Thursday, May 14, select CityWalk locations will be open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. with limited menus and new safety guidelines for workers and customers. Certain merchandise carts will also be reopened.
CityWalk and Universal first closed in mid-March, two months ago, furloughing part-time workers and cutting employee pay.
Read the full story here.
KEY WEST PROTESTERS SAY HIGHWAY CHECKPOINTS MUST GO
6 p.m.: Magnus Nilsson, a charter fishing captain in Key West, says it’s time to reopen the Florida Keys to visitors.
That means taking down the two checkpoints at the entrances to the island chain, which the county installed March 27.
The economy can’t take much more of the tourist ban, Nilsson said, while holding a protest sign at the corner of North Roosevelt Boulevard and Palm Avenue on Tuesday morning. He was among about 80 local protesters, including business owners and bartenders.
Read the full story here.
INITIAL RESULTS FROM FLORIDA SEROLOGICAL TESTING
4:20 p.m.: Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted out the initial results from Florida’s serological testing at drive-through sites, and they’re interesting ...
FLORIDA’S PRO CALL OF DUTY TEAM WORKING WITH EX-HURRICANES FOR CHARITY
3:40 p.m.: Want to see DeeJay Dallas and Ahmmon Richards be teammates one last time? The two beloved former Miami Hurricanes will share a virtual battlefield Wednesday for a charity event hosted by Florida’s Call of Duty League team.
The Florida Mutineers, a professional Call of Duty team based out of Boca Raton, are teaming with a host of NFL stars, other professional athletes, retired pros and streamers for the Wrecked Royale to raise money for COVID-19 charities Wednesday. Dallas, Richards and Sheldrick Redwine are among the celebrity guests the Mutineers have enlisted.
Read the full story here.
GULLIVER AD HELPING HIGH SCHOOLS NAVIGATE SPORTS DURING PANDEMIC
1:50 p.m.: It was nearly two months ago, shortly after high schools in South Florida shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Gulliver Prep athletic director Ira Childress started receiving phone calls from other athletic directors.
They all shared the same general issue: How were they going to work through this? Their spring sports were most likely going to be canceled — the Florida High School Athletic Association made that official on April 20. What sports will look like when school comes back in the fall is still unknown.
And then, after speaking with a fellow athletic director in California, an idea struck.
“Why don’t we put together a national Zoom call for ADs to really kind of come on and shape the future of what we’re trying to do as we work through this pandemic?” Childress told Amanda Waters, the AD at Carlsbad High School in California.
And thus, the National Athletic Director Resources Network was born.
Read the full story here.
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FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
12 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday morning confirmed 941 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to nearly 42,000. The statewide total of known cases is now at 41,923.
There were also 44 new deaths announced, raising the statewide death toll to 1,779.
Read the full update on Florida’s case numbers here. The next update on Florida’s coronavirus numbers will come Wednesday morning.
MIAMI HEAT TO REOPEN PRACTICE FACILITY FOR PLAYER WORKOUTS STARTING WEDNESDAY
10:20 a.m.: Two months after the NBA season was suspended on March 11 and almost eight weeks since all NBA facilities were ordered closed to players and staff on March 20 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Miami Heat players will soon finally have an opportunity to shoot a basketball at AmericanAirlines Arena again.
The Heat is on track to begin allowing players Wednesday to participate in voluntary individual workouts at the team’s practice facility under strict NBA guidelines, according to a league source. The league began allowing for team practice facilities to open for workouts on Friday as allowed per local orders, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers opening its doors for player workouts that day and other teams, including the Heat, expected to do the same this week.
For now, the Heat plans to limit workouts at its AmericanAirlines Arena practice facility to three days per week.
Read the full story here.
TRAFFIC DOWN, BUT SPEEDING UP UNDER CORONAVIRUS RULES
9:50 a.m.: The dramatic drop in traffic during the coronavirus pandemic has caused a dangerous surge in speeding.
“There’s nobody out there, so people are driving faster and more aggressively,” said attorney Ted Hollander, partner at the Ticket Clinic, which has been handling a lower than average number of citations in the past month at its 31 Florida locations, but a higher percentage of speeding tickets.
“I’ve had tickets for unusually high speeds cross my desk — 115 in a 70 mph zone, 120 in a 70 mph zone, 111 in a 65 mph zone. People have been cooped up for seven weeks, they’ve been laid off, they’re losing income, they’re stuck with relatives in close quarters, they’re anxious and frustrated. Driving is an outlet. But speeding creates hazardous situations with dire consequences.”
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 Tuesday begins.
▪ Florida coronavirus cases near 41,000 and death toll hits 1,735
▪ Keys have had 12 positive cases since Friday. They’re all from one nursing home
▪ Women’s prisons are already hotbeds of abuse. Now one in Homestead is a COVID-19 nightmare
▪ Food services resume at plazas on Florida’s Turnpike. Takeout only in South FL for now
▪ DeSantis waiting to see what funds flow from Washington before acting on state budget
▪ ‘I want my Botox’: Miami yearns to be beautiful again. Here’s how it can happen
▪ ‘A lot of growth.’ Keys barbers, salons reopen after shutdown to a whole mess of hair
▪ Waiting in the car. Wearing a mask. How coronavirus has changed a visit to your doctor
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 12."
