Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 25
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.
HOW TO WATCH THURSDAY’S SILVER KNIGHT AWARDS
6 p.m.: Although their spring was turned upside down by the coronavirus, Miami-Dade and Broward high school seniors will be recognized for their achievements via livestream for the 62nd annual Silver Knight award ceremony.
The event, which recognizes outstanding students in 15 categories, will be streamed at 7 p.m. Thursday. Those interested can RSVP at http://2020silverknightawards.eventbrite.com/, and the livestream can be found on miamiherald.com/silverknight with a countdown starting at 6:30 p.m.
The event will also be livestreamed on the Miami Herald’s Facebook and YouTube channels: https://www.facebook.com/miamiherald/ and https://www.youtube.com/user/MiamiHerald/
THE SCENE AT A REOPENED DADELAND MALL
4:10 p.m.: During the rainy afternoon, people turned to Dadeland Mall instead of outdoor Memorial Day activities.
Signs posted around the mall and in stores designated that masks were necessary at all times, but that wasn’t followed across the board. Some customers and employees wore a mask around their neck or only on the bottom of their face, leaving noses exposed.
Although the mall is at 50% capacity and many stores were closed, Dadeland seemed just as noisy as a usual day with shoppers and diners.
Arrows on the floor were supposed to control traffic to go in one direction, but people, including security guards, walked in both directions.
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Flor Vega, who works at Nero & Acero, a jewelry bodega in the mall, said she wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for her job. Because her shop is uncovered in the middle of the mall, she sees customers walking by all day who aren’t following precautions.
“I do believe in the virus,” she said. “There are many people who don’t, but I do.”
Vega fears businesses opening too early will cause a second wave. She is particularly afraid of people who may carry COVID-19 but are asymptomatic.
— April Rubin
TESTING SITE AT HARD ROCK STADIUM CLOSED TODAY
3:30 p.m.: The COVID-19 testing site at Hard Rock Stadium was interrupted Monday because of inclement weather, and it is now closed for the rest of the day. The site will reopen Tuesday at 9 a.m.
OPA-LOCKA FOOD DISTRIBUTION EVENT
3:15 p.m.: The City of Opa-locka and Feeding South Florida will host a drive-thru food distribution Tuesday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Sherbondy Park Pavilion (777 Sharazad Blvd.).
Residents are encouraged to arrive early. All events are organized on a drive-thru, first-come, first-served basis and recipients are required to wear masks, stay in their vehicles, and open their trunks when it’s their turn in line to receive the food.
FLORIDA’S UPDATED CASE NUMBERS
1 p.m.: Monday’s report from the Florida Department of Health added another 879 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to the state total that now stands at 51,746. Of that, the South Florida pandemic epicenter — Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Monroe counties — accounted for 429, or 48.8 percent.
South Florida had nine of the 15 newly reported deaths that pushed the state death toll to 2,252.
Read the full update on Florida’s case numbers here. The next update on Florida’s coronavirus numbers will come Tuesday morning.
DO DETAINEE TRANSFERS INCREASE COVID-19 CASES?
10:50 a.m.: A Miami federal judge has ordered U.S. immigration officials to disclose whether the government’s practice of transferring detainees from one facility to another has contributed to a worrying spike in coronavirus cases inside three South Florida detention centers.
U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke’s order comes after the Miami Herald reported that COVID-19 cases at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Broward County skyrocketed last week after dozens of detainees were transferred there from Miami-Dade.
Read the full story here.
A MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE FROM THE MIAMI HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD
9:50 a.m.: Memorial Day is, and always will be, the day to honor American soldiers who died — starting with the Civil War — on battlefields here and around the world. These are the conscripts and the volunteers who gave their lives to save their fellow soldiers — and the rest of us.
This Memorial Day, unlike any other in our lifetime, we are engaged in a strange and different war, on a vastly different battlefield. It’s not a shooting war, but the fight against the coronavirus, too, is deadly to civilians and soldiers alike. To our shame, the heroes of this conflict have been under-equipped, denied the proper weapons and, in some American cities, even challenged by jeering mobs with both twisted minds and faces.
Monday will be a day to honor the doctors, nurses and healthcare providers, who — like soldiers — gave their lives saving others: Dr. Alex Hsu, a Margate internist, was the first medical practitioner in South Florida to lose his life to the disease he was helping others vanquish. Araceli Buendia Ilagan, an ICU nurse, cared for patients at Jackson Memorial for more than three decades. She was the third person to die of COVID-19 in Miami-Dade County. Soon after, Jackson Memorial suffered another loss — Devin Dale Francis, a technician in the radiology department, died of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
Here’s the rest of the Miami Herald Editorial Board’s message.
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 Monday begins.
▪ Another 740 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Florida, most from outside of South Florida
▪ Masks mandatory: Miami-Dade beaches to reopen amid COVID-19, but with new rules
▪ Not just beaches: Pools in multi-family buildings can reopen June 1 in Miami-Dade
▪ Hialeah ALF shuttered by state after dozens of staff, residents sickened with COVID-19
▪ From TikTok to virtual MAGA meetups: Campaigns are engaging Florida voters from home
▪ Death squad leader, detainees who tested positive for COVID on Haiti deportation flight
This story was originally published May 25, 2020 at 8:58 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 25."
