Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 9
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.
Miami Hurricanes lose marquee nonconference football game
4:20 p.m.: With the status of the college football season already in question, the University of Miami lost the only marquee nonconference game on its 2020 schedule on Thursday when the Big Ten announced plans to play a conference-only football schedule this season — if it plays football at all — because of rising cases of COVID-19.
That means UM’s Sept. 26 game against Michigan State has been canceled.
Read the full story here.
Students in Palm Beach County will likely start school year online
3:50 p.m.: Students in Palm Beach County will likely be learning online instead of in the classroom when the new school year begins next month, according to the School Board.
The consensus, while not a formal vote, was reached during a School Board workshop Wednesday discussing reopening plans during the COVID-19 pandemic as cases continue to increase through the state.
None of the reopening plans being considered by the district involve students and staff returning to school campuses on Aug. 10 “full time in the traditional sense,” Superintendent Donald Fennoy said during opening remarks.
Read the full story here.
Miami Springs City Hall closes public access due to COVID-19
3:20 p.m.: Miami Springs abruptly closed public access to its City Hall Monday after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
Read the full story here.
Key West’s Fantasy Fest is canceled due to COVID-19
2:30 p.m.: Fantasy Fest, Key West’s annual 10-day celebration of the scantily clad and the silly since 1979, won’t happen this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The theme for 2020 was going to be “Roaring 2020’s and Future Fictions.”
Organizers confirmed the cancellation Thursday on Facebook, ending speculation that the city would possibly host the huge event that pours cash into workers’ hands and company wallets at a time when South Florida is suffering through the COVID-19 crisis.
Read the full story here.
‘Miami-Dade positivity jumping to 26% as another very bad week continues’
1:10 p.m.: Intensive care unit capacity also swells to 92% as patient volume in Miami-Dade increases due to COVID-19.
Will COVID-19 force cancellation of Art Basel Miami Beach?
11:45 a.m.: With five months to go, a big question hangs over the 2020 editions of Art Basel Miami Beach and its companion but much smaller Design Miami fair: Will the show go on?
The COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened long-running financial woes at Art Basel’s parent company in Switzerland, forcing MCH Group to cancel lucrative sister fairs in Hong Kong and its hometown of Basel — on the 50th anniversary of the signature show that spawned the art-fair phenomenon, no less.
Now the accelerating spread of the novel coronavirus across South Florida and the rest of the country has further complicated the picture for revenue-starved MCH, raising fresh doubts over the prospect of holding a crowded, indoor international art fair in what could still be an epicenter of the pandemic come December.
Read the full story here.
Florida coronavirus death toll hits 4,000 as more than 8,900 new cases confirmed
11:20 a.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 8,935 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 232,718. There were also 120 new deaths announced, raising the statewide toll to 4,009.
The 120 deaths are the most the health department has confirmed within a 24-hour period, although it does not necessarily mean that all of the people died in the past 24 hours.
Read the full story here.
Mayors in Miami-Dade blast Florida’s COVID-19 contact tracing
11 a.m.: A shortage of contact tracers in Miami-Dade County has allowed COVID-19 to spread rapidly in Florida’s biggest hotspot, the mayor of Miami Beach said Thursday, expressing alarm at the state’s handling of the pandemic amid a statewide resurgence of the disease.
Contact tracers, who are responsible for interviewing COVID-19 patients in order to pinpoint where they were infected and to whom they may have passed the virus, have been overwhelmed by the recent spike in coronavirus cases, said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who spoke with state health officials Wednesday.
Hours before the press conference, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced that the Florida Department of Health would hire an additional 250 contact tracers in the county. The county will pay for the extra workers using federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Read the full story here.
Dr. Anthony Fauci weighs in on the questionable seasonality of the COVID-19 virus
10:15 a.m.: In an interview with SiriusXM Doctor Radio and New York University’s Langone Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, joined host Dr. Marc Siegel to discuss the rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the United States.
Florida — and the belief held by some that warm and humid weather would hinder the virus — figured into the conversation.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s off the table, but I think it’s pretty clear, Marc, that for the people who expected to see a sharp decline in the number of cases as the weather became warm and moist, I think we’re seeing that that’s absolutely not the case,” Fauci told Siegel.
“I mean, look at Florida. I mean, it’s a warm state right now, particularly in the summer, it’s certainly very humid and they’re getting hit really badly in their attempts to open up where they’ve had a rebound of cases that had essentially breaking records with regard to the number of cases per day. So, there may be some degree of seasonality buried in their Marc, but we certainly are not noticing it given what’s going on right now, as we enter the very warm part of our season,” Fauci said.
The full interview will air at 2 p.m. Friday on SiriusXM Doctor Radio, channel 110.
Florida Democratic Party will return PPP loan, blames Small Business Administration
10 a.m.: Florida Democratic Party leaders say they will return a forgivable federal loan worth as much as $1 million after facing internal criticism for applying for relief from a federal program created to help small businesses keep employees on the payroll during the coronavirus-driven recession.
The party explained the decision in an emailed statement at 12:12 a.m. A spokeswoman blamed the Small Business Administration for granting the loan, one of thousands disbursed as part of the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, in the roughly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package.
Read the full story here.
Disney reopens this weekend. Can you get tickets? And will Mickey wear a mask?
9 a.m.: After nearly four months of being closed during the pandemic, one of the last major theme parks in Florida will reopen this weekend. Mickey Mouse is back, but Walt Disney World has a slew of rules and guidelines you’ll have to follow.
And getting tickets will be really hard.
Disney World will begin its phased reopening on July 11. On that day, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will reopen. Four days later on July 15, Epcot and Hollywood Studios will open.
Read the full story here.
Broward restaurants can stay open, but closing time will come earlier, mayor says
8:50 a.m.: Restaurants will remain open in Broward, but must stop serving at 10 p.m. each day and limit the number of people per table to six patrons beginning Friday, County Mayor Dale Holness announced at a Wednesday news conference.
The announcement comes on the heels of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez shutting down indoor dining at restaurants and only allowing outdoor dining.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
8:40 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Thursday begins.
▪ Vice President Mike Pence says ‘early indications’ show COVID-19 prevention measures working in Florida.
▪ Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried slams Gov. Ron DeSantis for skipping Cabinet meetings but holding COVID-19 press events.
▪ Florida hit with 9,989 new coronavirus cases as the death toll nears 4,000.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 9."
