Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 13
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.
Doubts, concerns grow over timing, viability of Dolphins camp as Covid-19 cases surge
5:45 p.m.: After more than five months away, a return to football is imminent.
Probably.
Next week, nearly two dozen Miami Dolphins rookies are set to report to team headquarters for the start of their NFL careers.
They will move into the team hotel, start attending meetings and resume conditioning work. And they’ll theoretically do all that in the global epicenter of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full story here.
At the ‘epicenter’ of the COVID pandemic, Miami-Dade mayor resists more closures
4:50 p.m.: Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Monday he wants to see if existing restaurant restrictions and a countywide mask order help stabilize the county’s alarming COVID numbers before forcing more businesses to close.
Gimenez is under pressure on both sides, with cities and restaurant groups criticizing last week’s ban on indoor dining and Miami-Dade seeing much more coronavirus spread and hospitalizations than when the county mayor ordered all nonessential businesses to close in March.
“We’re not there yet. But everything is on the table. I don’t think anyone on this call wants to take that drastic step,” Gimenez said at a Monday morning online press conference with local doctors advising him on Miami-Dade’s COVID plan. “If we simply follow the rules, and keep our masks on and keep our distance, wash our hands, that we’ve opened can be done in a relatively safe way. ... Right now, I don’t have any intention of going further.”
Read the full story here.
Food distribution
3:45 p.m.: Hollywood’s Community Emergency Response Team, the city, Feeding South Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation have teamed up to offer a Community Food Distribution Tuesday.
The event, which will allow participants to leave with fresh, frozen and boxed groceries, will be held from 7:30 to 9 a.m. while supplies last at the Sheridan Street Tri-Rail station, 2900 Sheridan Street.
Those who participate in the drive-thru distribution must adhere to COVID-19 rules.
Key West issues a stricter mandatory mask law as COVID-19 cases rise
2:45 p.m.: The city of Key West on Monday ordered everyone over age 6 to wear face coverings whenever they leave their homes — even if they are able to maintain social distancing outside.
Violating the directive could lead to a misdemeanor charge and possible jail time, city spokeswoman Alyson Crean said.
Read the full story here.
Masks feel ‘claustrophic,’ says Florida man who was fired over Costco meltdown
2:05 p.m.: A Florida man who had a meltdown at a Southwest Florida Costco last week has broken his silence, Wink News first reported.
Shortly after a video circulated of Daniel Maples screaming “I feel threatened” to Costco customers in Fort Myers after they asked him to wear a mask, he was fired.
Maples told radio host Trey Radel on the Drive on 92.5 FOX News Friday that he has been receiving threats since the incident and just “wants his life back.”
The Bonita Springs resident said that one bad shopping trip should not define him.
Read the full story here.
Florida sees more than 12,600 new coronavirus cases as Miami-Dade total hits 67,713
12:05 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Monday confirmed 12,624 new cases of COVID-19, the second-highest single-day total recorded in the state since the pandemic began in March. The state now has 282,435 confirmed cases.
On Sunday, Florida reported 15,300 new COVID-19 cases, the most any state has reported in a single day.
There were also 35 new deaths announced Monday, raising the statewide death toll to 4,277.
Read the full story here.
This iconic Miami Beach hotel recently reopened. Coronavirus is making it close again
11:45 a.m.: After a reopening that lasted just three weeks, the iconic Clevelander South Beach Hotel and Bar has closed its doors again because of Florida’s rising number of COVID-19 cases.
The hotel, located at 1020 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, made a post on Facebook last month announcing it had reopened with new COVID-19 safety measures in place. They included a mask mandate for guests and staff, social distancing floor markings and “deep cleaning” guest rooms with hospital-grade disinfectants.
Its closure comes as Florida continues to see a rise in COVID-19 cases statewide.
Read the full story here.
New Republican push for paid family leave in coronavirus stimulus package
10:30 a.m.: Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said he will repackage his paid family leave proposal as a five-year pilot program in the hopes that it will pass Congress this month as part of the coronavirus stimulus legislation.
Cassidy said parents have been strained during the pandemic and that the paid family leave proposal could help ease some of their burdens. The five-year pilot program is intended to help with the cost of day care and other expenses and replace wages for new parents who take a leave of absence from their jobs.
The proposal would provide $5,000 in advance on new parents’ child tax credits and reduce families’ tax credits by $500 a year for 10 years, if they choose to participate in the voluntary federal program. Families are normally eligible for up to $2,000 annually in tax credits for each child, that would change to a maximum of $1,500 a child if they participated in Cassidy’s pilot program.
Read the full story here.
As Florida reports record number of COVID-19 cases, some call for a stricter response
9:25 a.m.: Florida health officials on Sunday reported 15,300 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 — more than any other state in America has previously reported in a single day.
The number in the Florida Department of Health’s latest update blew past the previous high, 12,274 by New York on April 4, and past Florida’s previous high of 11,458 on July 4.
While the figure reflects Florida’s ballooning case numbers in recent weeks, it may also be the result of a dramatic one-day rise in the number of reported test results. Helen Aguirre Ferre, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, said on Twitter Sunday that the positivity rate — the percentage of tests that produce a positive result — was down significantly from earlier in the week. On Sunday it was just over 11%, about eight percentage points lower than the weekly average entering the day.
But a Herald analysis this past week found disturbing two-week trends — of increasing positivity and rising numbers of confirmed cases, even as testing volume remained the same.
In response to the data, some Democratic lawmakers called on DeSantis to take immediate action to stem the spread of the disease.
Read the full story here.
CATCH UP TO START THE DAY
9:20 a.m.: Here are the coronavirus headlines to catch you up on what’s happening around South Florida and the state as Monday begins.
Florida reports 15,300 new COVID-19 cases — a record for one day anywhere in the U.S.
Disney World open again, with crowds starkly different from what most imagined
‘Recipe for disaster’: COVID-19 leads to kids’ vaccine rates falling, risking other outbreaks
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 13."
