Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 21
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.
CORONAVIRUS
South Florida hospitals scramble to reinforce nurses, treatments as COVID surge continues
6:45 p.m.: Nearly six weeks into South Florida’s COVID resurgence, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system has been pushed deep into surge mode, with Baptist Health of South Florida treating 831 COVID patients on Tuesday.
That’s over a third of the roughly 2,300 hospitalized with the disease throughout Miami-Dade, and nearly double the number of COVID patients being treated at the county’s public hospital, Jackson Health System, which had 453 patients on Tuesday morning.
Baptist Health, Jackson Health and Memorial Healthcare System in Broward have all shouldered high patient loads for weeks, and all reported operating near capacity despite having recently received new shipments of remdesivir, one of the few treatments proven to reduce hospital stays.
Read the full story here.
Inter Miami defender reveals he was player who tested positive for COVID-19 in June
6 p.m.: Defender Christian Makoun revealed on Instagram Tuesday afternoon that he is the Inter Miami player who tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-June.
He has since tested negative twice, is feeling better and was cleared to travel with the team to the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, where he was with his teammates in the bubble. But Makoun did not play in any of the three games.
When Inter Miami announced one of its players had tested positive, the club did not name the player and said only that he was asymptomatic.
Read the full story here.
Miami-Dade changes COVID reporting calculations to align with state
5:30 p.m.: After months of posting a higher rate of positive test results for COVID-19 than the state, Miami-Dade County officials have changed the way they calculate and report the metric — a key measure that gauges the level of testing and can show whether infections are rising or falling in the area.
The county changed the way it calculates the rate in order to more closely align with the Florida Department of Health’s method of arriving at the local positive test rate for new cases. The county’s rate has been higher than the state’s for months, a discrepancy that caused difficulty for local leaders trying to determine whether to impose closures and other safety measures.
The changes to the county’s New Normal dashboard began Saturday with the removal of two pages: one titled “Daily Positive Cases out of Total Tests” showing a two-week trend of local tests that were positive for COVID-19 and a second titled “New Positive Cases” reflecting the number of new tests and new positive results by day.
Read the full story here.
Federal unemployment benefit ends Saturday. DeSantis ‘not following’ Congress on that.
5 p.m.: For hundreds of thousands of Floridians, federal unemployment payments have been a lifeline during the coronavirus pandemic.
Those payments are set to expire Saturday. Yet when asked whether Congress should extend them, Gov. Ron DeSantis avoided answering the question during a Tuesday news conference.
“I haven’t been following what they’re doing,” he told a reporter.
Read the full story here.
More hand sanitizer recalled by the bottle, jug and drum for having ‘toxic’ methanol
4:20 p.m.: All sizes and lots of a hand sanitizer already on the FDA’s “toxic” methanol list got recalled Monday night. And that “toxic” list has been added to since last week’s update.
LIQ-E S.A. de C.V., the distribution name for Liquesa Exportacion, pulled Optimus Instant Hand Sanitizer sold in 8.5-ounce bottles, 1-gallon jugs, 55-gallon drums and 275-gallon tanks.
The bottles have lot No. 20-02. The jugs are lot No. 20-03. The tanks are lot No. 5200. All have 05/2022 expiration dates. The drums have lot Nos. L-1160, L-1180, L-2160, L-2180, L-2190 with an expiration date of 5/2022. Drums with lot Nos. L-1200, L-1210, L-2200, L-2210, L-3200, L-4200 and L-5200 have a 06/2022 expiration date.
All sizes and lots of a hand sanitizer already on the FDA’s “toxic” methanol list got recalled Monday night. And that “toxic” list has been added to since last week’s update.
Read the full story here.
State adds 9,440 coronavirus cases as South Florida’s known total passes 160,000
3:40 p.m.: Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 9,440 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 369,834. There were also 134 new Florida resident deaths announced, bringing the statewide resident death toll to 5,206.
Two new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident death toll to 113.
Read the full story here.
You’re not wearing a mask in South Florida? Here’s how much it could cost you
10 a.m.: For months, health experts and South Florida leaders have asked the public to wear their mask to help protect others from COVID-19. They have issued indoor and outdoor public mask mandates. Then they decided to crack down on maskless offenders by talking to their wallet.
The message?
Anyone not wearing a mask in public, inside and outside, will be fined.
Click here to learn how much being maskless in South Florida can cost you.
Expensive Miami private schools got millions in PPP loans. So did charter schools
9:35 a.m.: Some of Miami-Dade’s wealthiest private schools and publicly funded charter schools are benefiting from millions of federal dollars that are supposed to keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic.
The Paycheck Protection Program is supposed to help “small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll,” according to the Small Business Administration. In reality, big chains like Ruth’s Chris Steak House, which reported receiving $20 million, have benefited. Even the Los Angeles Lakers got approximately $4.6 million, which the team returned.
The Miami Herald found that local private schools have received loans ranging from $2 million to $5 million each. Dozens of public charter schools that are already publicly funded also received or benefited from the loans — a source of funding unavailable to traditional public schools.
But the paycheck loans aren’t the only public funds these schools have received. Some also took advantage of lifelines provided by the federal government through the school district.
Read the full story here.
Winn-Dixie changes course, will now require masks for grocery shoppers
9:25 a.m.: Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of grocery chain Winn-Dixie, has reversed its decision to not require customers to wear masks inside of its stores.
Starting on July 27, shoppers will have to don face coverings before entering Winn-Dixie supermarkets and other stores operated by Southeastern, the company announced Monday.
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 Tuesday begins.
▪ Florida adds more than 10,000 coronavirus cases as state total climbs past 360,300
▪ Recently recovered from COVID-19? Hospitals desperately need your blood, DeSantis says
▪ South Florida airports say state stopped screening Tri-state flights for quarantine
▪ Florida’s teachers union sues DeSantis, Corcoran over schools’ ‘reckless, unsafe reopening’
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in South Florida on July 21."
