Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on June 24
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.
Amid new ‘zero tolerance’ COVID rules, Miami Beach closes restaurants with bar service
6:15 p.m.: Miami Beach has temporarily shut down four restaurants since last Friday, when Miami-Dade County announced it would take a “zero tolerance” approach on businesses that violate coronavirus rules governing their ability to reopen following extended COVID-19 closures.
One restaurant per day was closed between Friday and Monday for serving drinks at their bars in violation of county rules. They are: Lucali, NaiYaRa, Sunny’s and Harat’s Pub. All except Lucali were forced to close for 24 hours under new measures imposed by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.
The closures mark the first time since restaurants were allowed to reopen in Miami Beach on May 27 that the city shut down any restaurant for an extended time. Previously, the city has forced restaurants violating the curfew to close early.
Read the full story here.
As COVID-19 numbers surge, New York orders 14-day quarantine for visiting Floridians
5:45 p.m.: The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced Wednesday that their states will require visitors from Florida and eight other states with rising COVID-19 case numbers to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival.
This edict goes into effect at midnight as Thursday begins.
If this sounds familiar, it comes three months and a day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decreed the same 14-day self-lockdown for those coming to Florida on flights from New York or New Jersey. Back then, New York City, served mainly by LaGuardia Airport, JFK Airport and Newark Airport, was the nation’s novel coronavirus pandemic epicenter.
Read the full story here.
Broward County ramps up enforcement for businesses that don’t follow COVID-19 rules
5 p.m.: Broward County issued a new emergency order Wednesday that will force businesses to temporarily shut down if they’re found violating laws related to social distancing and facial coverings, with county leaders warning that compliance must improve as novel coronavirus cases continue to spike across Florida.
Effective Friday, businesses that aren’t compliant must close for 24 hours — mirroring a rule in Miami-Dade County that prompted the closure of three businesses this past weekend — and may be subject to a $500 fine. Businesses can reopen once they submit a letter to the county explaining the changes they’ve made under penalty of perjury, and then will be subject to another inspection within five days. If they’re caught breaking the rules again, the fine will be $15,000.
“We know that social distancing and wearing a face covering works,” Broward County Mayor Dale Holness said Wednesday at a press conference outside the Broward Sheriff’s Office in Fort Lauderdale, where he was joined by the mayors of nine cities across the county.
Read the full story here.
Florida nonprofit to give food and hurricane essential supplies at Miami drive-thru event. And yes, masks are included
3 p.m.: Florida nonprofit Farm Share will be hosting a fresh produce and hurricane essential drive-thru event at Miami City Hall Saturday to help families in need prepare for a possible storm during the coronavirus pandemic.
The nonprofit is partnering with the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center for the drive-thru event, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive in Miami.
Organizers say they expect to feed up to 500 families during the event. Families who attend the drive will be given fresh produce, proteins, produce seedlings and mango fruit trees. Essential hurricane supplies will also be provided, including non-perishable canned goods, water and 2020 hurricane preparedness guides.
And because hurricane season this year is occurring during the COVID-19 era, every family will also be given protective face masks and hand sanitizer.
The event is drive-thru only, which means anyone who is interested in receiving the produce and supplies must arrive in a car or truck that has its windows up and a trunk that can be opened.
The Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center will also be unveiling its first Community Resilience Pod during the drive-thru event.
Constructed from a 40-foot shipping container donated by the MSC Foundation, the pods are meant to help communities “adapt and prepare for climate shocks and stresses, such as hurricanes, extreme heat, and sea-level rise,” according to the center. The pod will be moving throughout Miami-Dade County during the summer.
To learn more about Farm Share’s upcoming food drives, visit http://www.farmshare.org/. To learn more about the The Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, visit https://www.onebillionresilient.org/our-mission
Florida reports a new single-day record of more than 5,500 coronavirus cases
2 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed 5,508 additional cases of COVID-19, setting another daily total record high since the start of the pandemic. The state now has a total of 109,014 confirmed cases.
Previously, the highest daily total of newly confirmed cases was on Saturday, with 4,049. There were also 44 new deaths announced Wednesday, raising the statewide death toll to 3,281.
Alberto Moscoso, a spokesman for Florida’s Department of Health, confirmed the totals to the Miami Herald on Wednesday. His confirmation comes a day after discrepancies were noted in Tuesday’s total number of cases and deaths.
Broward camp counselor tests positive for coronavirus
9:35 a.m.: A counselor in David Posnack Jewish Community Center’s upper camp has tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the camp announced Tuesday.
This comes after the center’s preschool was suspended indefinitely because two teachers had tested positive last week.
Jungle Island reopens with new rules
8:55 a.m.: Jungle Island will reopen its doors to the public Thursday for the first time since it shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
And just like at the recently reopened Zoo Miami and Miami Seaquarium, there will be a slew of new rules you need to follow, including a mask requirement for all guests over age 2 and all employees.
Read the full story here.
A younger and less sick wave of COVID patients is surging through Miami-Dade hospitals
8:40 a.m.: Record numbers of patients with COVID-19 are filling Miami-Dade hospitals, with one medical center in Homestead reaching ICU capacity on Tuesday after county officials identified the area as a hot spot of new cases.
Countywide, hospitals report far more beds available than beds filled with COVID patients. Still, hospital administrators and emergency room physicians say they’re concerned by the surge, and that they’ve resumed near daily meetings with state regulators.
But they point to a silver lining in the growing number of new cases and hospitalizations in Florida’s hardest-hit county: The patients are younger and not as severely ill as they were during the first wave in April, and doctors and nurses have gained valuable experience in the months-long pandemic — leading to shorter hospital stays and better outcomes.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
8:30 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Wednesday begins.
Florida reports more than 3,000 coronavirus cases, pushing statewide total to 103,506
Florida 17-year-old is the youngest in the state to die from coronavirus, records show
Florida yanks this college bar’s license after dozens test positive for COVID-19
DeSantis warns bars, restaurants that licenses are at risk if they break COVID rules
Trump-Biden debate relocates to Miami as University of Michigan frets about COVID-19
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 9:08 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on June 24."
