Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 29
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.
Florida sees largest COVID-19 case increase in over a month
4:30 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Friday confirmed 1,212 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of known cases to 54,497. There were also 49 new deaths announced, raising the statewide toll to 2,413.
Friday’s increase in cases marks the largest daily increase in more than a month.
The 49 new deaths of Florida residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have been reported in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Calhoun, Charlotte, Duval, Escambia, Gadsden, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Jackson, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, St. Johns, Union and Washington counties.
Read the full story here.
ICE has been testing migrants before deportation. But how it’s doing so is problematic.
4:20 p.m.: The Department of Homeland Security is only testing a sample of the detainees it is removing from the United States and using a 15-minute rapid test to determine if they have the coronavirus.
The response by DHS to a Miami Herald inquiry comes as immigration advocates continue to call for an end to deportations amid surging COVID-19 infections in Latin America and the Caribbean and as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns about the accuracy of the test being used, called the Abbott ID NOW.
Read the full story here.
French DJ virtual set to raise awareness for mental health support. Gables theater bows virtual Friday Night Flashbacks
2:20 p.m.: DJ/producer Cedric Gervais’ pre-recorded 90-minute set from atop Miami’s Paramount Miami Worldcenter will stream virtually at 7 p.m. Friday, May 29, via Armada Music’s Twitch, Facebook and YouTube channels.
Gervais, teaming with Miami-Dade County’s National Alliance on Mental Illness and the City of Miami Police Department, produced the “Waking Up” set to bring awareness to the emotional and mental distress issues facing front line workers and people around the world as they struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In other arts news, Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theater in Coral Gables, like all theaters, hasn’t been able to hosts its musicals or plays this season because of the pandemic. So at 7 p.m. Friday, May 29, the theater bows its new Friday Night Flashbacks series on Facebook Live. This week’s feature offers some behind-the-scenes talk about its 2016 production of “West Side Story” with Artistic Director David Arisco and guests choreographer Ron Hutchins and Broadway actress Sarah Amengual.
This is how the coronavirus pandemic has changed UM players, families as return draws near
Noon: The Miami Herald spoke with parents of Hurricanes football players after spending more than two months at home with their sons during the coronavirus pandemic. The players’ return to the University of Miami draws closer after the Coral Gables campus shut down in March.
“We are working with campus on a plan that will allow guys to start returning to campus in June and July with the idea that they will be ready for fall camp and our scheduled season opener [against Temple] Sept. 5,’’ UM athletic director Blake James told the Miami Herald.
Read the full story here.
City of Miami plans fireworks show to honor first responders
11:40 a.m.: Some South Florida cities, like Key Biscayne and Miami Shores, had come to the painful conclusion that hosting July 4th fireworks shows would be not in the public’s best interest. Policing large crowds drawn by the displays would just be too difficult during a coronavirus pandemic those city’s officials said last week.
But on Friday morning, Bayfront Park Management Trust Chairman Commissioner Joe Carollo and the City of Miami sent an invitation to the media to cover footage of a fireworks show the city plans to host to honor Miami’s first responders, doctors, nurses, grocery store workers and others.
The fireworks display, set for 8:30 p.m. Saturday will be conducted by Firepower Fireworks Displays from two barges on Biscayne Bay — one adjacent to downtown Miami’s Bayfront Park and the other adjacent to Maurice A. Ferré Park.
This fireworks show comes with a plea not to attend them in person.
“City of Miami residents are encouraged to stay home and watch the fireworks show from their homes or balconies. Social distancing and group guidelines should be followed. All gatherings outside of individual households and at either Bayfront Park or Maurice A. Ferré Park are discouraged,” the city’s news release said.
Beaches and pools are opening again in Miami-Dade. Here’s what to expect
8:45 a.m.: Miami-Dade County joins Broward at the beaches and pools when Mayor Carlos Giménez’s order goes into effect on Monday, June 1.
That’s when the county’s established guidelines for the re-opening of its beaches, as well as hotels and pools, will bring the two counties more or less in line.
But it won’t be the beach or pool experience you recall from previous summers.
Miami Beach also announced on Friday it plans to open its beaches and pools on June 1.
Coral Gables, too, but Venetian Pool will remain closed.
For the rules read the full story here.
Florida hospital starts ICU unit to treat MIS-C, the kids illness linked to COVID-19
8:15 a.m.: Florida has at least seven kids with multi-system inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, that is linked to COVID-19. Nicklaus Children’s Hospital near South Miami has created a specialized ICU unit to treat the disorder. The specialized four-room “MIS-C pod” is part of the hospital’s 40-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and will make it easier to treat patients diagnosed with the multi-system inflammatory syndrome.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
8 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Friday begins.
▪ Silver Knights are extraordinary. The ceremony honoring them was anything but ordinary
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 8:52 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on May 29."
