Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on June 20
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.
Everglades National Park expands offerings
6 p.m.: The Shark Valley Visitor Center at Everglades National Park will be slowly reopening. The center opened on June 1, but now bikes can be rented again and the tram has been reopened.
Other visitor centers, camping and lodging areas will remain closed. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt is scheduled to visit the park on Saturday to mark the reopening of the tram tours.
Read the full story here.
Miami-Dade closes 3 restaurants for coronavirus violations. Miami’s mayor seen at one
4:15 p.m.: Three Miami restaurants have been shut down for violating coronavirus safety guidelines, and the owners could face jail time. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was seen at one of the restaurants around guests who were breaking safety rules.
Miami-Dade police told Miami police Friday night that three restaurants — Astra in Wynwood, Swan in the Design District and El Secreto Bar & Grill in Little Havana — were not following the county’s “New Normal” rules.
Miami police checked the restaurants and shut them down for violations. The owners of the three Miami restaurants may face a $500 fine and up to 180 days in jail. This also goes for any owner whose businesses is non-compliant.
Read the full story here.
U.S. cruises canceled through mid-September as COVID-19 outbreaks continue
3:45 p.m.: Summer cruising is canceled.
The cruise industry lobbying group Cruise Lines International Association announced Friday that its member lines — including South Florida-based Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages — will cancel U.S. cruises though September 14. Cruise ships continue to experience COVID-19 outbreaks more than three months after the industry shut down on March 13 as more than 42,000 crew members remain stuck at sea without pay.
Cruise companies had planned to resume operations in late July, when the ban put in place by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expires.
Read the full story here.
FIU faculty member receives grant to study the use of telemedicine in South Florida’s vulnerable communities during the pandemic
3 p.m.: A Florida International University faculty member has received a $50,000 grant to study the use of telemedicine in South Florida’s vulnerable communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Sahar Ajabshir, an assistant professor in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, was selected to receive the grant from the Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse’s Supplemental Pilot Studies Program.
The proposed pilot study: “Utilization of telemedicine during COVID-19 global pandemic to address health disparities among vulnerable communities living in South Florida.”
The study is a partnership with a community-based primary-care clinic that was forced to essentially close in March.
“Considering the higher prevalence of underlying medical conditions among minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, and the loss of employer-based insurance among the millions who have lost their jobs, it is imperative to find a solution to maintain and expand access to health care for these communities in South Florida as we expect the second peak of COVID-19 pandemic during the upcoming fall and winter,” Ajabshir said in a news release.
More information is available on FIU’s website.
Florida sets new daily record with 4,049 coronavirus cases as death toll rises by 40
1:30 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 4,049 additional cases of COVID-19, continuing a record-breaking streak for the most new cases reported in a day. The state now has a total of 93,797 confirmed cases.
Previously, the highest daily total recorded was on Friday, when 3,822 cases were reported. There were also 40 new deaths announced Saturday, raising the statewide death toll to 3,144.
Coronavirus cases in Florida have consistently been trending up since mid-May, according to a Miami Herald analysis of public and non-public COVID-19 data through June 3. The trends could not be attributed solely to increases in testing, the analysis found.
Read the full story here.
After warning of new COVID cases, Miami mayor ate at busy restaurant that defied rules
12:30 p.m.: Facing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases in Miami-Dade County, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez held a press conference Monday to “sound to alarms” and “reiterate” the importance of social distancing and wearing facial coverings.
Three days later, Suarez — who tested positive for COVID-19 in March — was seen at a crowded restaurant where guests appear to have violated a host of coronavirus rules as they dined at packed tables, sat too close to other parties and danced without masks.
Photos show Suarez was present at Swan, a swanky Design District restaurant, on Thursday and June 11. In an Instagram photo that appears to be from June 11, Suarez is shown posing with two men. Photographs from Thursday night show he was seated for dinner with four other people. Under Miami-Dade County’s rules for reopening, only four people are allowed at a table at a time, unless diners are from the same household, which pushes the limit to 10.
Read the full story here.
In Miami-Dade, $10 million in rent relief was ready to go. Now it’s on hold until July
11:30 a.m.: By the end of June, Miami-Dade’s Housing Department had planned to award $10 million in federal rent-relief money to as many as 15,000 tenants facing possible eviction over the economic calamity brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
But a parliamentary showdown this week delayed those plans.
The County Commission was set to vote on the proposal Tuesday. That vote didn’t happen when a commissioner, mayoral candidate Esteban “Steve” Bovo, exercised his right to block any legislation submitted late for the day’s agenda.
Read the full story here.
If you get COVID-19, what should you do with your pet?
10:45 a.m.: If you have tested positive for the virus, and your animal appears to be sick, call the veterinary clinic before showing up, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises.
“Your veterinarian can evaluate your pet and determine the next steps for your pet’s treatment and care,” CDC said in a tweet.
The CDC offered pet owners tips including having someone else care for your pet if you are sick and trying to stay away from your pet as much as possible.
For more information visit https://bit.ly/2QPkZ9R.
Local governments should order people to wear masks in public, Florida doctors say
10 a.m.: The president of the Florida Medical Association on Friday advised local governments to require the use of masks in public as coronavirus cases continue to rise, putting the organization at odds with the governor, who has declined to issue a statewide order on wearing face coverings.
The recommendation by the state’s largest organization of physicians appeared to echo Miami-Dade County’s own policy, which is slightly different but mandates face coverings for customers and employees in businesses across the county, as well as when entering parks and beaches.
The guidelines endorsed by the Florida Medical Association are those of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommend the use of cloth face coverings in public areas “where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain,” such as grocery stores and pharmacies. The American Medical Association, of which the Florida organization is a chapter, also endorses CDC guidelines on masks in public.
Read the full story here.
As Florida COVID cases rise among younger people, DeSantis says state has hospital beds
9:15 a.m.: As Florida reported another record day of new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, with 3,822, Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back against suggestions that the state may become the next epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus pandemic and that it’s quickly running out of hospital beds to care for patients.
At a news conference in Miami with local hospital executives and state and local leaders, DeSantis said that most of the state’s new cases have been found among younger people with milder symptoms and insisted that Florida has plenty of hospital beds available.
“A lot of the people who are testing positive now are not symptomatic,” he said.
Read the full story here.
‘Of all the things’: After navigating 885 days across the globe, sailors return to pandemic
9:05 a.m.: When Eric Bihl and Kennon Jones quit their jobs, bought a boat and set sail in 2018 to circumnavigate the globe, they expected to hit a few hurdles.
Getting injured in a storm or having their 34-foot racing sailboat sink Titanic-style after hitting a semi-submerged shipping container in the ocean were on their list of things to avoid. They even had a plan B in the event of hitting a whale.
“But of all the things that could have put a wrench in this plan, a global pandemic was pretty low on the list,” said Jones, a former foreign affairs officer at the U.S. State Department, after he and Bihl, a wine merchant, docked their sailboat at Hall of Fame Marina in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, completing the last of the more than 30,000 ocean miles on their journey.
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 Saturday begins.
▪ Inter Miami player tests positive for COVID-19, may still play July 8 game. Here’s why
▪ Florida breaks another single-day record, with 3,822 new coronavirus cases
▪ Disney cancels Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in 2020
▪ These new Miami restaurants opened during the pandemic. Here’s where to find them
▪ 18 test positive for COVID-19 at His House, Florida’s largest foster group home
This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on June 20."
